Court Opinion

ID: 9737894
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:36:34.463383+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:02.413323
License: Public Domain

WUEST, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur. The key in this case was factual. Did Olsen see the oncoming vehicle and try to beat it across the highway, or did he fail to see it? If it was the former, he should have been held for trial on manslaughter charges. If the latter, the dismissal was correct.
Magistrates are not the finders of fact (i.e. jury) in criminal prosecutions. Conflicting facts or inferences are for the trier of fact to resolve. State v. Dunn, 121 Wis.2d 389, 359 N.W.2d 151 (1984). However, a magistrate must necessarily ascertain the facts to decide probable cause. In performing this function he may assess the weight and competency of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses. People v. Paille, 383 Mich. 621, 178 N.W.2d 465 (1970).
In this case the spontaneous statement at the accident scene by defendant he did not see the oncoming vehicle is credible. It does not appear to be a statement conceived after .the fact to exculpate himself from a manslaughter charge. The magistrate apparently determined from the spontaneity of the remark Olsen did not see the oncoming vehicle, hence no manslaughter charge. Under that scenario, it was not an abuse of discretion to dismiss the charges.