Wisconsin Post-Conviction Relief Lawyers

A direct appeal is limited to the trial record. But some of the most powerful challenges to a conviction rest on facts outside that record — a defense lawyer who failed to investigate, evidence discovered after trial, a plea entered without understanding its consequences. Wisconsin law provides a vehicle for those claims: the postconviction motion.

Post-conviction litigation is as much investigative work as legal work. At Strang Bradley, we re-examine the case from the ground up — interviewing witnesses trial counsel never contacted, consulting experts, and building the factual record the first proceeding lacked. Then we litigate the motion, including evidentiary hearings where the law requires them.

Grounds for Post-Conviction Relief in Wisconsin

• Ineffective assistance of trial counsel — failures to investigate, advise, object, or present a defense (Strickland v. Washington)
• Newly discovered evidence that creates a reasonable probability of a different result
• Plea withdrawal — a plea that was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, or that lacked a factual basis
• Inaccurate information or improper factors relied on at sentencing
• Constitutional violations — Brady violations, juror bias, conflicts of interest
• Unlawful or excessive sentences and sentence credit errors

Choosing the Right Vehicle

Timing determines the route. During the direct-appeal window, postconviction motions proceed as part of the direct appeal itself. Once that window closes, a person still in custody can raise jurisdictional and constitutional claims — but with a serious catch: claims that could have been raised earlier are generally barred unless there is a sufficient reason they were not. That makes the first post-conviction proceeding critical. Raising the right claims, the right way, the first time can make all the difference.

Where a motion alleges ineffective assistance of counsel, Wisconsin courts require an evidentiary hearing — a Machner hearing — at which trial counsel testifies about what they did and why. We prepare for those hearings the way we prepare for trial.

Why Choose Strang Bradley for Post-Conviction Litigation

These cases demand a rare combination: trial-level investigation, appellate-level writing, and the judgment to know which claims will actually move a court. Our attorneys have litigated post-conviction claims through the Wisconsin appellate courts and into federal habeas review, and we understand how decisions made now shape every later stage of the case.