Opinion ID: 1867276
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pretrial and Postconviction Motions

Text: ¶ 10. A defendant may make pretrial and postconviction motions. See, e.g., Wis. Stat. § 971.31 (2001-02) (permitting motions before trial whenever the general issue in the motion can be determined without trial); Wis. Stat. § 974.06 (2001-02) (allowing for the filing postconviction motions to vacate, set aside or correct a sentence). At a minimum, a motion, whether made pretrial or postconviction, must [s]tate with particularity the [factual and legal] grounds for the motion, Wis. Stat. § 971.30(2)(c) (2001-02), and must provide a good faith argument that the relevant law entitles the movant to relief, Wis. Stat. § 802.05(1)(a) (2001-02). [4] Not all motions require evidentiary hearings. See 9 Wiseman, Chiarkas and Blinka, Wisconsin Practice: Criminal Practice and Procedure § 11.5 (1996). However, where an evidentiary hearing is requested, one is not automatically granted. The court does not have to hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion just because a party asks for one. State v. Velez, 224 Wis. 2d 1, 12, 589 N.W.2d 9 (1999) (quoting United States v. Sophie, 900 F.2d 1064, 1071 (7th Cir. 1990)). We have defined sufficiency standards that must be met for both pretrial and postconviction motions before a hearing is granted.
¶ 11. When a motion is made before trial, the defendant likely has not fully developed the factual and legal issues involved in his or her case. Velez, 224 Wis. 2d at 13; State v. Garner, 207 Wis. 2d 520, 532-33, 558 N.W.2d 916 (Ct. App. 1996). As well, the defendant has the whole criminal process before him or her, and may make a motion at a later date. Therefore, even if the motion on its face does not allege facts to entitle the defendant to relief, a defendant generally is allowed an opportunity to develop the factual record. Velez, 224 Wis. 2d at 18; Garner, 207 Wis. 2d at 533-535. This safeguard protects a defendant's due process rights. Velez, 224 Wis. 2d at 14. We do not need to delve further into the sufficiency standard for pretrial motions as that issue is not directly before us today. [5] We raise it only to point out that once the criminal process has been completed and the defendant convicted and sentenced, the reasons that support a lesser sufficiency standard for pretrial motions are no longer compelling, and instead, we must consider the strong policy that favors finality. Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288, 309 (1989) (calling the principle of finality essential to the operation of our criminal justice system); State v. Lo, 2003 WI 107, ¶ 75, 264 Wis. 2d 1, 665 N.W.2d 756 (quoting Teague ). Therefore, the sufficiency standard for postconviction motions requires more from a defendant.
¶ 12. As we stated earlier, the circuit court must hold a hearing when the defendant has made a legally sufficient postconviction motion, and has the discretion to grant or deny an evidentiary hearing even when the postconviction motion is legally insufficient. See supra, ¶ 9. The circuit court may deny a postconviction motion for a hearing if all the facts alleged in the motion, assuming them to be true, do not entitle the movant to relief; [6] if one or more key factual allegations in the motion are conclusory; or if the record conclusively demonstrates that the movant is not entitled to relief. Bentley, 201 Wis. 2d at 310-11; Nelson, 54 Wis. 2d at 497-98. See supra, ¶ 9. We discuss below what makes a postconviction motion legally sufficient, and examine the sufficiency of Allen's postconviction motion. ¶ 13. In this case, we address the sufficiency of a postconviction motion requesting an evidentiary hearing in the context of a motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel, as that is the claim that is now before us; however, we stress that the standard we announce today applies to other postconviction motions in which an evidentiary hearing is requested. Requiring a movant to state sufficient material facts that, if true, would entitle the movant to relief is not a new standard; the principles we set forth below have been applied to postconviction motions for many years. We do note, however, that in motions filed pursuant to State v. Bangert, 131 Wis. 2d 246, 274, 389 Wis. 2d 12 (1986), regarding plea withdrawal, the requisite standard is explained in State v. Hampton, 2004 WI 107, 274 Wis. 2d 379, 683 N.W.2d 14. Furthermore, the requirements we explain herein also may not apply in the same way to other types of motions where the movant has a right to a hearing. See, e.g., Wis. Stat. § 973.20 (addressing restitution hearings). ¶14. A hearing on a postconviction motion is required only when the movant states sufficient material facts that, if true, would entitle the defendant to relief. Bentley, 201 Wis. 2d at 310; State v. Washington, 176 Wis. 2d 205, 215, 500 N.W.2d 331 (Ct. App. 1993). The mere assertion of a claim of `manifest injustice,' in this case the ineffective assistance of counsel, does not entitle a defendant to the granting of relief . . . . Washington, 176 Wis. 2d at 214. ¶ 15. It has been said repeatedly that a postconviction motion for relief requires more than conclusory allegations. Despite the repetitive theme that such motions require the allegation of sufficient material facts that, if true, would entitle the defendant to relief, many defendants continue to file insufficient postconviction motions. See, e.g., Bentley, 201 Wis. 2d at 316-18; Smith v. State, 60 Wis. 2d 373, 379-82, 210 N.W.2d 678 (1973); State v. Saunders, 196 Wis. 2d 45, 48-52, 538 N.W.2d 546 (Ct. App. 1995); State v. Toliver, 187 Wis. 2d 346, 360-61, 523 N.W.2d 113 (Ct. App. 1994); Washington, 176 Wis. 2d at 214-16. However, the circuit court may order the defendant to submit more specific evidence regarding his motion. See Saunders, 196 Wis. 2d at 48. ¶ 16 In Bentley , the defendant pled guilty to one count of felony murder and one count of first-degree intentional homicide, each as party to a crime. The court sentenced Bentley to concurrent terms of 35 years in prison for the felony murder charge and to a mandatory life term for the first-degree homicide charge. Bentley's parole eligibility date was set for 45 years from the date of sentencing. Bentley, 201 Wis. 2d at 306-07. Bentley filed a postconviction motion to withdraw his guilty plea and requested a hearing because he claimed he had been deprived of effective assistance of counsel. Bentley's motion alleged that his pleas were not voluntary or informed because his trial counsel erroneously advised him that his minimum parole eligibility date would be 11 years and 5 months. Id. at 307. The court denied his motion without a hearing and we affirmed. Id. at 319. We concluded that Bentley's allegation that he pled guilty due to misinformation by counsel was merely conclusory. Id. at 318. Further, we concluded the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion in denying a hearing after its examination of the record conclusively showed that Bentley was not entitled to relief. Id. at 319. ¶ 17. The defendant in Smith pled guilty to two counts of armed robbery. His postconviction motion alleged that his guilty plea and some admissions he made were coerced. His motion was denied without a hearing. Smith, 60 Wis. 2d at 375-77. We determined that Smith's bare-bones allegation regarding coercion was nothing more than a conclusory statement. Smith, however, claimed that the flesh of the motion was the statement of a co-defendant who said he thought the defendant was under a great deal of pressure at the time of the arrest. We concluded that a single statement by a co-defendant did not constitute sufficient material facts to entitle Smith to relief. Id. at 380-81. ¶ 18. In Saunders, a postconviction hearing was held on Saunders' ineffective assistance of counsel claim; however, neither Saunders nor trial counsel was present. Appellate counsel appeared and requested Saunders' presence at the hearing. That request, along with the postconviction motion, was denied. Saunders, 196 Wis. 2d at 47-49. The circuit court held that Saunders had failed to provide anything more than conclusory allegations in his motion, and therefore, his presence at a hearing was not required. Id. at 48. Saunders' motion alleged these four instances of ineffective assistance of trial counsel: (1) [T]hat trial counsel failed to properly counsel the defendant regarding his testimony at trial; (2) that trial counsel failed to properly interview the defendant regarding his version of the facts of the case; (3) that trial counsel failed to call witnesses to testify at defendant's trial as requested by the defendant; and (4) that trial counsel failed to make sufficient objections to the introduction of evidence and testimony to preserve the objections. Id. (internal quotations omitted). Saunders claimed his allegations, though general, were specific enough to raise a question of fact. The court of appeals disagreed, noting that Saunders' allegations were his subjective opinion and that he failed to elaborate on how counsel failed and how that failure prejudiced him. In sum, there is no historical basis allegedthere is nothing from which the trial court could have gained a sense of what is really true. Id. at 52 (internal quotations omitted). ¶ 19. Toliver, who was convicted of first-degree sexual assault as a party to a crime, filed a postconviction motion alleging, among other things, that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. The circuit court denied his motion without a hearing. Toliver, 187 Wis. 2d at 352-54. Toliver advanced his ineffective assistance of counsel claim in his Motion for Resentencing or Sentence Modification. That motion provided: 5) If trial counsel's failure to object to the breach [of the plea agreement] at the time of sentencing constitutes a waiver of the issue, Mr. Toliver requests resentencing on the grounds that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Id. at 361. Toliver presented no material facts to support his postconviction motion, and the court of appeals concluded that Toliver was not entitled to a hearing. Id. ¶ 20. In Washington, the defendant pled guilty to several charges. He later filed a postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Washington, 176 Wis. 2d at 207. In his motion, Washington requested an order allowing him to withdraw his plea due to ineffective assistance of counsel on the following grounds: [T]hat the attorney representing the defendant at the time of the plea, ..., failed to keep him fully apprised of the events transpiring within his case, failed to completely review all of the necessary discovery material and other factual matters involved in the determination of the plea, failed to completely and fully investigate any and all matters which would be of importance in determining whether motions should be brought prior to the trial, whether the trial should proceed, and failing to completely investigate all matters which would be of importance in allowing the defendant to make a determination as to whether to proceed with a guilty plea, or continue to trial. Id. at 212. The court of appeals concluded that this motion was replete with conclusory allegations, and contained no material facts entitling Washington to relief. Id. at 215. ¶ 21. There is a clear theme running through these and other similar cases. As we said in Bentley, the motion must include facts that allow the reviewing court to meaningfully assess [the defendant's] claim. Bentley, 201 Wis. 2d at 314. For example, an insufficient statement that does not allow the court to meaningfully assess a defendant's claim might be an assertion that trial counsel did not adequately prepare for trial. This assertion is the defendant's opinion only, and it does not allege a factual basis for the opinion. On the other hand, a defendant's assertion that trial counsel failed to adequately prepare for trial because counsel did not review all the police reports and one police report contained exculpatory information that counsel did not put into evidence, alleges a factual basis for the assertion. See Saunders, 196 Wis. 2d at 51-52. ¶ 22. In addition, facts that allow a reviewing court to meaningfully assess a defendant's claim are those facts that are material to the issue presented to the court. A material fact is: [a] fact that is significant or essential to the issue or matter at hand. Black's Law Dictionary 611 (7th ed. 1999). In this case, they would be facts material to a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. If a defendant's sole contention is that trial counsel failed to object to the admission of certain evidence and that failure was deficient and prejudicial, the fact that one of the witnesses on the witness list was not called during trial is not material to the defendant's allegation, if that witness would not have testified as to why the admitted evidence against the defendant was not credible. However, that same fact, of a witness who was not called, would be material if the defendant's contention is that at trial the witness was crucial to the defense because that witness would have provided testimony supporting the defendant's version of his or her whereabouts on the night of the crime. ¶ 23. As an assistance to defendants and their counsel, we propose that postconviction motions sufficient to meet the Bentley standard [7] allege the five w's and one h; that is, who, what, where, when, why, and how. A motion that alleges, within the four corners of the document itself, the kind of material factual objectivity we describe above will necessarily include sufficient material facts for reviewing courts to meaningfully assess a defendant's claim. ¶ 24. Perhaps a hypothetical example will help to explain: A postconviction motion that alleges counsel was ineffective because he failed to call as a witness the defendant's neighbor who, the defendant alleges, could provide exculpatory testimony because the neighbor saw the defendant and her boyfriend at a restaurant on the night of the crime still fails to meet the Bentley standard because it fails to include sufficient material facts. The defendant simply concludes that the failure to call this witness was deficient performance that was prejudicial, because she was found guilty. However, she does not explain any more than that. Her neighbor may have seen her with her boyfriend at a restaurant on the night of the crime, but she has failed to explain how and why this matters. On the other hand, the defendant has satisfied the Bentley standard if her postconviction motion alleges as follows: The defendant alleges she was deprived effective assistance of counsel because her trial counsel failed to call as a witness, Bill Johnson, whose testimony would support the defendant's testimony that she was dining and going to the movies with her boyfriend at 10:00 p.m. on the night of June 1, 2002, when Sally's Hair Salon was burglarized. The defendant told trial counsel that her neighbor, Bill Johnson, entered a restaurant around 7:00 p.m. while the defendant and her boyfriend were dining, and that on the way to be seated, Mr. Johnson stopped at defendant's table and talked with the couple. The defendant told trial counsel that following dinner she and her boyfriend saw Mr. Johnson at the movie theater while they waited in line to buy tickets for a 9:15 p.m. movie. The defendant informed her trial counsel that three movies were scheduled to start between 9:00 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., the time during which the defendant and her boyfriend were in the theater lobby and saw Mr. Johnson. The defendant further alleges that she gave trial counsel her receipt from the restaurant. This failure to call Mr. Johnson as a witness was deficient and prejudicial to the defendant as there is a reasonable probability that she would not have been convicted of stealing hair products from Sally's Hair Salon had Mr. Johnson testified. This motion contains sufficient material facts i.e., the name of the witness (who), the reason the witness is important (why, how), and facts that can be proven (what, where, when)that clearly satisfy the Bentley standard, and would entitle a defendant to a hearing. ¶ 25. With the foregoing standard in mind, we turn now to Allen's postconviction motion.