Vollmer v. Luety

WILLIAM A. BABLITCH, J.

(concurring). I join the majority opinion. I write separately only to answer the concurring opinion.

The author of the concurring opinion continues to insist, as she did in State v. Wyss, 124 Wis. 2d 681, 370 N.W.2d 745 (1985), that the court of appeals may rely on any of three grounds for reversing a judgment under sec. 752.35, Stats.

This case affirms Wyss and State v. Schumacher, 144 Wis. 2d 388, 424 N.W.2d 672 (1988). Both cases, as *27well as this majority opinion, state unequivocally that there are only two grounds for the court of appeals to reverse a judgment under sec. 752.35, Stats.: 1) when the real controversy has not been fully tried; or, 2) when it is probable that justice has for any reason miscarried and the appellate court can conclude that a new trial would probably produce a different result.

The concurrence, if not answered, could well produce confusion among the bar and the lower courts. The author of the concurring opinion urged in Wyss that a third ground of reversal be adopted, the common law, namely the integrity of the fact-finding process test. Her position was rejected. See Note, State v. Wyss: A New Appellate Standard for Granting New Trials in the Interest of Justice, 1987 Wis. L. Rev. 171. We continue to reject it.

I am authorized to state that CHIEF JUSTICE NATHAN S. HEFFERNAN, JUSTICES ROLAND B. DAY, WILLIAM G. CALLOW, DONALD W. STEINMETZ AND LOUIS J. CECI join in this concurrence.