DocketNumber: No. 2015AP374-CR
Judges: Hruz, Seidl, Stark
Filed Date: 3/1/2016
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 11/16/2024
¶ 1. Gavin Hill appeals a judgment convicting him of disorderly conduct — domestic abuse, as a repeater and a domestic abuse repeater, and an order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Hill raises two arguments on appeal. First, he argues the record in this case does not support the application of the domestic abuse repeater enhancer. Second, he argues that, as applied to him, the mandatory imposition of a $250 DNA surcharge, pursuant to Wis. Stat.
BACKGROUND
¶ 2. On July 19, 2013, Hill was charged with two counts: disorderly conduct — domestic abuse, as a repeater and a domestic abuse repeater; and criminal damage to property, as a repeater. A person qualifies as a repeater if he or she "was convicted of a felony during the 5-year period immediately preceding the commission of the crime for which the actor presently is being sentenced, or if the actor was convicted of a misdemeanor on 3 separate occasions during that same period, which convictions remain of record and unre-versed." Wis. Stat. § 939.62(2). As relevant to this case, a person qualifies as a domestic abuse repeater if he or she
was convicted, on 2 separate occasions, of a felony or a misdemeanor for which a court imposed a domestic abuse surcharge under s. 973.055(1) or waived a domestic abuse surcharge pursuant to s. 973.055(4), during the 10-year period immediately prior to the commission of the crime for which the person presently is being sentenced, if the convictions remain of record and unreversed.
Wis. Stat. § 939.621(l)(b).
¶ 3. Regarding the ordinary repeater enhancer, the complaint alleged Hill had been convicted of three misdemeanors within the previous five years in Sha-wano County case Nos. 2011CM454 and 2009CM1195, and Brown County case No. 2008CT1859. Regarding the domestic abuse repeater enhancer, the complaint alleged Hill had been convicted on two separate occasions during the previous ten years of offenses for which a court either imposed or waived a domestic abuse surcharge. The complaint did not specify which prior offenses the State believed met that standard. However, attached to the complaint were CCAP
¶ 5. On April 9, 2014, Hill pled no contest to the disorderly conduct charge, as set forth in the Information. There was no negotiated plea agreement, and both sides were free to argue at sentencing.
¶ 6. Hill moved for postconviction relief, asking the circuit court to vacate the domestic abuse repeater enhancer and commute his sentence to the maximum
DISCUSSION
I. Domestic abuse repeater enhancer
¶ 7. On appeal, Hill renews his argument that the record does not support application of the domestic abuse repeater enhancer. "When we review the application of a statute to a set of facts to determine whether a penalty enhancer is valid, we are presented with a question of law that we review independently . . . ." State v. Bonds, 2006 WI 83, ¶ 12, 292 Wis. 2d 344, 717 N.W.2d 133.
¶ 8. Wisconsin Stat. § 973.12(1) sets forth the statutory requirements for alleging and applying the ordinary repeater enhancer. See Bonds, 292 Wis. 2d 344, ¶ 14. Under the statute, qualifying prior convictions must either be admitted by the defendant or proved by the State beyond a reasonable doubt. See § 973.12(1); State v. Kashney, 2008 WI App 164, ¶ 8, 314 Wis. 2d 623, 761 N.W.2d 672.
¶ 9. We agree with the parties that this standard also applies to the domestic abuse repeater enhancer.
¶ 10. Unlike OWI and OAR convictions, the prior convictions that are considered for purposes of the domestic abuse repeater enhancer are not explicitly excluded from consideration under the ordinary repeater statute. In addition, as in Coolidge, due process concerns support applying the proof requirements of Wis. Stat. § 973.12(1) to domestic abuse repeater allegations. We therefore agree with the parties that the proof requirements of § 973.12(1) apply in this case.
¶ 12. To date, no case has discussed what suffices as an admission that a defendant qualifies as a domestic abuse repeater under Wis. Stat. § 939.621(l)(b). However, cases interpreting the ordinary repeater statute are instructive on this point. For instance, we know that, under the ordinary repeater statute, an admission that the defendant qualifies as a repeater may not "be inferred nor made by defendant's attorney, but rather, must be a direct and specific admission by the defendant." State v. Farr, 119 Wis. 2d 651, 659, 350 N.W.2d 640 (1984). We also know that it is not enough for the defendant merely to admit he or she is a "repeater," because that is a legal term. State v. Watson, 2002 WI App 247, ¶ 5, 257 Wis. 2d 679, 653 N.W.2d 520 (citing Wis. Stat. § 973.12(1)).
¶ 14. On this record, our supreme court concluded the defendant's no contest plea constituted an admission to the prior convictions listed in the complaint. Id. at 512. The court rejected the defendant's argument that he did not directly and specifically admit the prior convictions, as required by Farr, stating:
The admission in this case was an affirmative one. It was direct and specific, as called for by Farr. The trial judge expressly drew the defendant's attention to the*254 repeater nature of the charge and to the fact that the possible penalties the defendant was facing might be enhanced, pursuant to the repeater statute, as a result of the defendant's being found guilty pursuant to his no contest plea. After informing the defendant of his constitutional rights and repeatedly questioning him so as to ascertain that he was submitting his plea freely, voluntarily and intelligently, the trial judge accepted the defendant's unequivocal affirmative answer as to his understanding of his situation. In this light, the colloquy into the defendant's understanding of the meaning of the allegations he was facing can be said to have produced a direct and specific admission.
Id. at 509.
¶ 15. The court then cited the general rule in other jurisdictions that "what is admitted by a guilty or no contest plea is all the material facts alleged in the charging document." Id. Finally, the court stated the defendant's position was "incredible insofar as it argues that he had reason to expect that despite his no contest plea, the state was still required to prove the existence of the prior convictions before he could be sentenced as a repeater." Id. at 511. The court explained:
Clearly, the defendant knew his plea would constitute an admission of his prior convictions. The defendant was fully and expressly informed that his no contest plea would subject him to the penalties to which his prior convictions and consequent repeater status rendered him liable. The judge stated to him explicitly that he was subject to sentencing as a repeater upon a finding of guilty. The judge inquired as to the defendant's understanding of the situation. The record shows that the defendant was fully aware of the potential consequences of pleading no contest. He nevertheless chose to enter a no contest plea. He did so freely, voluntarily and intelligently. Presumably, he*255 did so because he honestly knew the allegations as to his priorconvictions to be true and because he considered it futile to require proof by the prosecution.
Id.
¶ 16. In Liebnitz, the complaint charged the defendant with five counts, each as a repeater. Liebnitz, 231 Wis. 2d at 276. Each repeater allegation "set forth the facts supporting its application to [the defendant]," and the defendant did "not challenge the accuracy or specificity of the repeater provisions detailed within the complaint." Id. At the initial appearance, the circuit court read each of the charges aloud, including the repeater allegations. Id. at 276-80. With respect to each charge, the court confirmed the defendant understood the penalty increase occasioned by the repeater enhancer. Id. at 277-80. An Information was later filed containing the same charges and repeater allegations as the complaint. Id. at 280.
¶ 17. The defendant ultimately pled no contest to each of the five counts in the Information. Id. at 280-81. During the plea colloquy, the court ascertained that the defendant understood the nature of the charges and had read and understood the Request to Enter a Plea and Waiver of Rights form. Id. at 281. The court asked the defendant, " [I]s it correct that by your pleas you've chosen not to contest the allegations contained in the complaint that was provided to you when you first appeared in court?" Id. at 282. The defendant answered in the affirmative. Id. However, the court did not advise the defendant of the maximum penalties he would be facing by entering his pleas or directly ask the defendant whether he had been convicted of the crimes set forth in the repeater provisions of the charging documents. Id. at 282, 284.
¶ 19. First, the court noted that both the complaint and Information charged the defendant as a repeater on all counts and set forth in detail the nature of his previous convictions, the dates of conviction, the number of years added to the underlying charges as a result of his repeater status, and the maximum possible term of imprisonment for each count with the repeater enhancer applied. Id. at 285-86. Second, the court observed the circuit court read each count of the complaint to the defendant during the initial appearance, including the repeater allegations, and the defendant confirmed he understood the possible penalty enhancement. Id. at 286. Third, the court noted the defendant had completed a Request to Enter a Plea and Waiver of Rights form, on which he specifically acknowledged "that a factual basis for [his] plea of no contest [was] established by the criminal complaint and transcript of preliminary exam. . . ." Id. Fourth, the court observed the defendant confirmed during the plea colloquy that he had chosen not to contest the allegations in the complaint. Id. Citing Rachwal, the court stated it is " a well-established rule" that a guilty or no contest plea admits all the material facts alleged in the charging documents. Liebnitz, 231 Wis. 2d at 286-87. The court concluded, "In this case the criminal complaint clearly set forth the repeater charge attached to each count filed against [the defendant], and
¶ 20. As in Liebnitz, the "totality of the record" in this case demonstrates that Hill was "fully aware" of the domestic abuse repeater allegation and its consequences when he entered his no contest plea to the disorderly conduct charge. See id. at 285, 288. Both the complaint and Information alleged Hill had committed that offense as a domestic abuse repeater. In particular, both documents parroted the language of Wis. Stat. § 939.621(l)(b), alleging Hill had "been convicted on 2 separate occasions of a felony or misdemeanor for which a court imposed a domestic abuse surcharge under sec. 973.055(1) Wis. Stats, or waived a domestic abuse surcharge pursuant to sec. 973.055(4) Wis. Stats., during the ten year period immediately preceding the commission of this offense [.]"
¶ 21. Neither the complaint nor the Information specified which prior convictions the State was relying on to support its allegation that Hill was a domestic abuse repeater. However, that deficiency was remedied by the CCAP records attached to the complaint. Although CCAP records do not constitute prima facie proof of prior convictions for purposes of Wis. Stat. § 973.12(1), see Bonds, 292 Wis. 2d 344, ¶ 49, nothing prevents us from relying on those records to determine whether Hill understood the domestic abuse repeater allegation in the charging documents and therefore admitted, by virtue of his no contest plea, that he qualified as a domestic abuse repeater. Here, when the allegations in the charging documents are read together with the CCAP reports, the convictions on
¶ 22. The CCAP reports attached to the complaint pertain to five prior cases. Three of those cases —Shawano County case Nos. 2011CM454 and 2009CM1195, and Brown County case No. 2008CT1859 — are specifically referenced in the charging documents as satisfying the ordinary repeater allegation. This leaves only two other cases in the attached CCAP records — Brown County case No. 2011CM602 and Shawano County case No. 2012CF120. The CCAP records for those cases state the dates of the convictions and list "charge modifiers" of "[Wis. Stat. §] 968.075(l)(a) Domestic Abuse." Justas the allegations in the charging documents regarding the domestic abuse repeater enhancer precede the allegations regarding the ordinary repeater enhancer, the CCAP records pertaining to Brown County case No. 2011CM602 and Shawano County case No. 2012CF120 precede the CCAP records pertaining to the cases specifically alleged in support of the ordinary repeater enhancer. Under these circumstances, the charging documents fairly apprised Hill of the cases on which the State was relying to support the domestic abuse repeater enhancer, even though those cases were not expressly identified in the body of the complaint or in the Information.
¶ 24. Then, during the plea hearing, the circuit court methodically explained the allegations in the Information pertaining to the disorderly conduct
THE COURT: Now, ordinarily, disorderly conduct is a Class B misdemeanor which is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for up to 90 days, or both. In this case we have a different penalty structure because there are two separate — well, three actually, penalty enhancers. One is that this is an act of domestic abuse that is that the disorderly conduct happened between you and a domestic partner. When the Court makes that finding, then the Court can impose a 100 [dollar] domestic abuse assessment, essentially a surcharge, to raise money to combat domestic violence, generally; do you understand that?
MR. HILL: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: You're also charged with a repeater enhancer, and that repeater is based on three misdemeanor convictions which are of record, and un-reversed, so once we have those three prior convictions then you can have a repeater enhancer which can increase the penalty by up to, excuse me, by not more than two years; do you understand that?
MR. HILL: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: And if there has been a — there is another repeater enhancer in this case, because there is an allegation that you are [a] domestic abuse repeater, which means that you have been convicted on two separate occasions of either a felony or a misdemeanor in which the Court did impose, or could have imposed a domestic abuse surcharge. In other words, two prior domestic abuse incidents during the ten*261 years immediately prior to the commission of this offense, do you understand that?
MR. HILL: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: And when that's the case, then the maximum term of imprisonment may be increased by not more than two years, and which would mean ultimately two years and three months, or two years and ninety days as a maximum penalty. And the penalty itself, the repeater enhancer changes the status of the conviction here from a misdemeanor to a felony; do you understand that?
MR. HILL: Yes, your Honor.
Immediately thereafter, the court posed two additional questions to Hill;
THE COURT: Understanding the elements of the offense then, and the potential penalties, do you still wish to plead no contest?
MR. HILL: Yes, your Honor.
THE COURT: Do you have any questions for [defense counsel] or for me before I accept your plea[?]
MR. HILL: No, your Honor.
¶ 25. The plea colloquy and Plea Questionnaire/ Waiver of Rights form demonstrate that Hill understood "the nature and consequences of the charges against him and the consequences of his plea." See Liebnitz, 231 Wis. 2d at 287. Notably, the colloquy here contained far more information regarding the applicable repeater enhancers than the plea colloquy in Liebnitz, during which the court did not even address the repeater enhancer. See id. at 282. In addition, the Plea Questionnaire/Waiver of Rights form in this case
¶ 26. In summary, by pleading no contest to the disorderly conduct charge, as alleged in Count 1 of the Information, Hill admitted the domestic abuse repeater allegation contained therein. See Rachwal, 159 Wis. 2d at 509 (" [W]hat is admitted by a guilty or no contest plea is all the material facts alleged in the charging document."). The totality of the record — in particular, the charging documents and attached CCAP reports, the Plea Questionnaire/Waiver of Rights form, and the plea colloquy — demonstrates Hill was "fully aware of the [domestic abuse] repeater charge and its consequences" when he entered his no contest plea.
II. DNA surcharge
¶ 27. Hill also argues the circuit court erred by refusing his request to vacate the DNA surcharge. The conduct underlying Hill's disorderly conduct conviction occurred on July 18, 2013. At that time, with certain limited exceptions, a court had discretion to order a DNA surcharge of $250 when it imposed sentence for a felony conviction. See Wis. Stat. § 973.046(lg) (2011-12). However, the legislature subsequently amended § 973.046 to require imposition of a $250 DNA surcharge for each felony conviction. See 2013 Wis. Act 20, §§ 2353-2355; sec. 973.046(lr)(a). This change first applied to sentences imposed on January 1, 2014. 2013 Wis. Act 20, §§ 9326(l)(g), 9426(l)(am). Hill was sentenced on June 9, 2014. As a result, the circuit court was required under the new law to impose a $250 DNA surcharge. Hill contends that, by making the surcharge mandatory instead of discretionary, the new law increased the punishment for his crime after its commission, in violation of the ex post facto clauses of the federal and state constitutions. See U.S. Const. art. I, §§ 9-10; Wis. Const, art. I, § 12.
¶ 29. " Only the supreme court, the highest court in the state, has the power to overrule, modify or withdraw language from a published opinion of the court of appeals." Cook v. Cook, 208 Wis. 2d 166, 189—90, 560 N.W.2d 246 (1997). We are therefore bound by the holding in Scruggs and must reject Hill's argument that the mandatory imposition of the DNA surcharge in his case violated the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal constitutions.
By the Court. — Judgment and order affirmed.
All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2013-14 version unless otherwise noted.
WISCONSIN Stat. § 973.055(1) provides that a circuit court "shall" impose a domestic abuse surcharge if a person is convicted of certain listed offenses and " [t]he court finds that the conduct constituting the violation.. . involved an act by the adult person against his or her spouse or former spouse,
CCAP, which stands for Consolidated Court Automation Programs, is "a case management system provided by Wisconsin Circuit Court Access program (WCCA). It provides public access online to reports of activity in Wisconsin circuit courts for those counties that use CCAP." State v. Bonds, 2006 WI 83, ¶ 6, 292 Wis. 2d 344, 717 N.W.2d 133.
At the time of his plea, Hill intended to go to trial on the criminal damage to property charge. However, that count was ultimately dismissed and read in.
The four-year sentence recommended by the PSI would not have been possible unless both the repeater and domestic abuse repeater enhancers applied. The maximum sentence for disorderly conduct is ninety days. See Wis. Stat. §§ 947.01(1), 939.51(3)(b). The repeater enhancer increases a maximum term of imprisonment of one year or less to not more than two years. See Wis. Stat. § 939.62(l)(a). The domestic abuse repeater enhancer increases the maximum term of imprisonment by not more than two years. See Wis. Stat. § 939.621(2).
Wisconsin Stat. §973.12(1) provides, in relevant part, that" [a]n official report of the F.B.I. or any other governmental agency of the United States or of this or any other state shall be prima facie evidence of any conviction or sentence therein reported." The State properly conceded in its respondent's brief that the CCAP reports attached to the complaint did not constitute prima facie evidence that Hill met the statutory definition of a domestic abuse repeater. It is well established that CCAP reports do not qualify as official reports for purposes of § 973.12(1). Bonds, 292 Wis. 2d 344, ¶¶ 48-49.
The State also conceded, on supplemental briefing, that the PSI did not constitute prima facie evidence of Hill's domestic abuse repeater status. A PSI can, under certain circumstances, constitute prima facie evidence of previous convictions for purposes of the ordinary repeater enhancer. See State v. Caldwell, 154 Wis. 2d 683, 693-95, 454 N.W.2d 13 (Ct. App. 1990). For instance, in Caldwell, we determined the PSI provided prima facie evidence of the defendant's prior conviction because " [t]he repeater allegation was expressly contemplated by the investigating probation and parole agent [,]" " [t]he date of the relevant prior conviction [was] included in the reportf,]" and the report "contain[ed] numerous indications that the agent independently verified the prior conviction from sources other than the complaint." Id. at 694.
Unlike the ordinary repeater enhancer, for purposes of the domestic abuse repeater enhancer, the State must do more
When two penalty enhancers are applied to a particular charge, as was the case with Hill's disorderly conduct charge, different prior convictions must be used to support each penalty enhancer. See State v. Delaney, 2003 WI 9, ¶¶ 31-32, 259 Wis. 2d 77, 658 N.W.2d 416. Given that the three cases expressly relied on for the ordinary repeater enhancer could not, as a matter of law, also be used to establish the domestic abuse repeater enhancer, the State necessarily needed to rely
We also acknowledge that the CCAP reports simply indicate the "Domestic Abuse" modifier applied in Brown County case No. 2011CM602 and Shawano County case No. 2012CF120. They do not expressly state whether a domestic abuse surcharge was imposed or waived in those cases. That omission, while fatal to the State satisfying its burden of proof with regard to the PSI, see supra n.6, is not dispositive as to the issue of whether Hill admitted, through his no contest plea, that he qualified as a domestic abuse repeater. For purposes of that inquiry, we must determine whether the totality of the record demonstrates Hill understood the prior convictions on which the State was relying. Both the complaint and the Information expressly allege Hill was twice convicted of crimes for which a court imposed or waived a domestic abuse surcharge. Those allegations, combined with the CCAP reports, fairly apprised Hill that the State necessarily believed the convictions in Brown County case No. 2011CM602 and Sha-wano County case No. 2012CF120 included the imposition or waiver of a domestic abuse surcharge.
In State v. Liebnitz, 231 Wis. 2d 272, 603 N.W.2d 208 (1999), the court generically referred to the "totality of the record" as supporting its conclusion that the defendant's plea constituted an admission that he qualified as an ordinary repeater. Id. at 288. That conclusion necessarily requires that the defendant's understanding of the meaning and potential consequences of the charges exists at the time of the plea. Indeed, the only record evidence the Liebnitz court cited in support of its conclusion predated the entry of the plea in that case. See id. at 285-87. Consistent with this approach, we conclude the alternative PSI Hill submitted does not support the notion Hill understood the meaning and potential consequences of the domestic abuse repeater enhancer at the time he entered his plea.
In addition, contrary to the State's assertion, the alternative PSI does not, by itself, constitute Hill's personal admission that he was a domestic abuse repeater. If a defense attorney's admission is insufficient to constitute a personal admission by the defendant, see Farr, 119 Wis. 2d at 659, it is difficult to