Court Opinion

ID: 9719918
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:09:01.608354+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:47:27.972842
License: Public Domain

ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.
¶ 29. (dissenting). The ultimate question in many cases is where do you draw the line. Because I draw the line differently than does the majority, I respectfully dissent.
¶ 30. I begin with a basic premise: that the purpose of a plea hearing is to have the defendant enter a plea. Here, the record reflects that the defendant never entered a plea so the majority is forced to infer the entry of a plea from the circumstances.
¶ 31. I agree that we can appropriately infer all of the requirements of a validly made plea, save one: that the plea was actually made. We can infer that the plea is freely and voluntarily made. State v. Bangert, 131 Wis. 2d 246, 274-75, 389 N.W.2d 12 (1986). We can infer that the defendant knowingly waives his rights. State v. Moederndorfer, 141 Wis. 2d 823, 826-28, 416 N.W.2d 627 (Ct. App. 1987). We can infer that the defendant understands the nature of the offense. Bangert, 131 Wis. 2d at 268. We can infer that the defendant understands the potential punishment. State v. Van Camp, 213 Wis. 2d 131, 143, 569 N.W.2d 577 (1997). But I draw the line here. Where no plea has been made, I would not infer a plea.
¶ 32. Wisconsin Stat. § 971.08 sets forth the procedures a circuit court must follow in order to insure that a defendant's plea is entered knowingly and voluntarily. The majority is correct that the statute does not explicitly require "the circuit court to ask the defen*776dant to state his or her plea expressly and personally in open court." Majority op. at 773.
¶ 33. However, I do not find that fact to be instructive since the statute is written presupposing that a plea has been stated:
Pleas of guilty and no contest; withdrawal thereof. (1) Before the court accepts a plea of guilty or no contest, it shall do all of the following:
(a) Address the defendant personally and determine that the plea is made voluntarily with understanding of the nature of the charge and the potential punishment if convicted....
(c) Address the defendant personally and advise the defendant as follows: "If you are not a citizen of the United States of America, you are advised that a plea of guilty or no contest for the offense with which you are charged may result in deportation, the exclusion from admission to this country or the denial of naturalization, under federal law."
(2) If a court fails to advise a defendant as required by sub. (1) (c) and a defendant later shows that the plea is likely to result in the defendant's deportation, exclusion from admission to this country or denial of naturalization, the court on the defendant's motion shall vacate any applicable judgment against the defendant and permit the defendant to withdraw the plea and enter another plea. This subsection does not limit the ability to withdraw a plea of guilty or no contest on any other grounds.
(3) Any plea of guilty which is not accepted by the court or which is subsequently permitted to be withdrawn shall not be used against the defendant in a subsequent action. Wis. Stat. § 971.08 (emphasis added).
*777It really makes little sense to speak of "the plea" or "accepting] the plea" or "withdraw[ing] the plea and enter[ing] another plea" unless the defendant actually enters a plea.
¶ 34. The majority draws the line too low. Here the defendant is sentenced to an indeterminate prison term not to exceed ten years without ever having pled to the offense. Because I believe that a minimum standard of criminal jurisprudence requires that the defendant enter a plea before he is found guilty and sentenced, I dissent.