State v. Funk, 799 N.W.2d 421

Funk was convicted of two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.
C.M.F. testified about the two encounters; Funk's daughters corroborated key facts.
Voir dire included questions about sexual assault victims; Tanya G. did not respond to certain questions.
Two jurors (including Tanya G.) disclosed traumatic experiences and were excused; replacement jurors were seated.
Post-trial, Funk learned Tanya G. was a prior victim of sexual assault; he moved to vacate and grant a new trial.
Circuit court found Tanya G. biased (subjective and objective) and vacated the verdict; state court of appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Tanya G. failed to respond to a material voir dire question	Funk argues nonresponse to a material question shows bias	Funk contends the question was material to bias status	Yes; nonresponse to a material question supported bias finding (rejected: see analysis)
Whether the circuit court’s finding of subjective bias was clearly erroneous	Subjective bias shown by Tanya G.’s demeanor and lack of disclosure	Tanya G. denied bias and remained credible	No; the court’s subjective-bias finding is unsupported by the factual record
Whether a reasonable person in Tanya G.’s position could not be impartial (objective bias)	Objectively biased due to past abuse and voir dire nonresponse	Past abuse does not per se render a juror biased; record insufficient	No; the facts did not establish objective bias as a matter of law under Faucher/Wyss Delgado framework
What standard governs review of juror bias decisions post-Faucher	Appellate review should defer to circuit court under Faucher	Wyss factors may be applicable; analysis should be objective yet deferential	Court applies Faucher framework with deference to circuit court; majority reverses evidence of bias analysis

State v. Faucher, 227 Wis. 2d 700 (1999) (clarified three bias types and deferential standard for objective bias)
State v. Wyss, 124 Wis. 2d 681 (1985) (three-factor Wyss test for objective bias (in context))
State v. Delgado, 223 Wis. 2d 270 (1999) (emphasized inquiry into whether questions sufficiently disclosed bias and factors for objective bias)
McDonough Power Equipment, Inc. v. Greenwood, 464 U.S. 548 (1984) (establishes material-question standard and need for further inquiry)
In re State v. Oswald, State v. Oswald, 232 Wis. 2d 103 (Ct. App. 1999) (discussed Faucher-era juror bias jurisprudence and transition to new framework)
State v. Wolfe, 246 Wis.2d 233 (2001) (commentary on Faucher-era terminology and bias analysis)