In August of 2023, Luke Wenke was found guilty of violating federal supervised release by indirectly contacting Victim 1 (the Minnesota lawyer whom he served time for cyberstalking). He was sentenced to time served and 34 months of continued probation.
Luke Wenke’s Public Defender States His Plan To File an Anders Brief
At Luke Wenke’s instruction, his public defender filed an appeal. (This would be the first of two appeals that Wenke would ultimately pursue, with the more recent case being dismissed earlier this month.)
During a phone conversation in October of 2023, Wenke’s public defender at the time, Jay Osviovitch, advised Wenke that he was planning to file what’s known as an Anders brief. Based on my admittedly limited understanding, a public defender files an Anders brief when they find the defendant’s appeal argument to be without merit or based on frivolous grounds.
According to the following motion, Osviovitch explained why he planned to file an Anders brief and what it would mean for Luke Wenke’s appeal. Following the conversation, and after considering his options, Wenke signed an affirmation stating that he wished to withdraw his appeal. At the time, he was in custody on federal remand at the Cattaraugus County Jail for similar alleged violations.catt
In a subsequent letter to the court (coming soon to this site), Luke Wenke denied ever consenting to withdraw his appeal, claiming that someone must’ve forged his handwriting. I obtained the documents so that perhaps the public can decide for themselves whether or not this is true.
Luke Wenke Appeal – Motion to Withdraw
November 1st, 2023
CASE #23-6964, DOC. #10.1
236964 APPEAL – Doc. #10.1 – Motion to Withdraw