Kocken v. Gierach, 2:24-cv-01679

Rochelle Braun, acting on behalf of her daughter Alisha Kocken, filed a federal habeas corpus petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 challenging Kocken’s Wisconsin state court criminal conviction and sentence.
Kocken pled guilty and was sentenced in June 2024; her mother asserts multiple legal errors occurred during prosecution and sentencing, including an allegedly improper charge that increased the sentence by three years.
The petition alleges various constitutional violations, including Brady and Giglio violations, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, and due process errors.
Kocken did not complete the full state appellate process; although a Notice of Intent to Pursue Post-Conviction Relief was filed, no appeal was submitted to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals or Supreme Court.
The federal court screened the petition to determine if it was eligible for consideration under habeas corpus standards, specifically focusing on whether state court remedies were exhausted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Habeas relief without state exhaustion	Kocken’s rights were violated; asks court to intervene now	Not detailed; focus on procedural posture	Dismissed: state remedies not exhausted
Legal/procedural errors in conviction	Multiple constitutional errors and wrong charge	Not detailed	Not reached due to dismissal
Ineffective assistance of counsel	Counsel failed to act on her behalf	Not detailed	Not reached
Motion to appoint counsel	Requests appointment due to case complexity	Not detailed	Denied as moot

Picard v. Connor, 404 U.S. 270 (1971) (federal habeas petition requires exhaustion of state remedies; each claim must be presented to state courts)
O'Sullivan v. Boerckel, 526 U.S. 838 (1999) (proper exhaustion requires presenting each claim through a full round of state appellate review)
Anderson v. Benik, 471 F.3d 811 (7th Cir. 2006) (to fairly present claims, both operative facts and controlling law must be put before the state courts)