Court Opinion

ID: 9853931
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:57:43.200658+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:16.808994
License: Public Domain

LOUIS B. BUTLER, JR., J.

{concurring).

¶ 95. I join the mandate and all but ¶ 59 of the majority opinion in this matter. While I agree with the majority that Dr. Kotkin's report does not affect our ultimate decision, I write separately because I would reach the larger issue of the applicability of chapters 901 to 911, otherwise known as the rules of evidence,1 at a hearing under Wis. Stat. § 980.08(4).
*136¶ 96. As Justice Roggensack points out in her dissent, we agree that as a general rule, hearsay evidence is not admitted over an objection unless there is an exception that permits its admission. Roggensack, J., dissenting, ¶ 114. She notes that exceptions to the general rule may be established by statute. Id. She points out that "the usual place to look for such exceptions is Wis. Stat. Ch. 908," which governs the basic evidentiary rules regarding hearsay evidence. Id. She indicates that there are other statutes that provide that the rules of evidence do not apply, thereby affording the opportunity to have hearsay evidence admitted. Id. On these points, we agree. I would begin the inquiry, however, by looking first at the applicability and scope of the rules of evidence, in order to determine whether an exception exists with respect to Wis. Stat. § 980.08(4).
¶ 97. Wisconsin Stat. § 901.01 provides the scope of the rules of evidence in general, and specifies that chapters 901 to 911 "govern proceedings in the courts of the state of Wisconsin except as provided in ss. 911.01 and 972.11." Section 911.01(1) clearly states that the rules of evidence "apply to the courts of the state of Wisconsin... in the proceedings and to the extent hereinafter set forth except as provided in s. 972.11." Section 911.01(2) provides that the rules of evidence "apply generally to proceedings in civil and criminal actions." Section 911.01(4) lists when the rules of evidence are inapplicable.2 Unless specified there, excep*137tions to the applicability of the rules of evidence do not exist unless clearly set forth elsewhere in the statutes.
¶ 98. Nothing in chapters 901 to 911 exempts the applicability of the rules of evidence in ch. 980 proceedings. The rules of evidence include the rules governing the admissibility of hearsay evidence. See Wis. Stat. ch. 908. Hearsay is not admissible except as provided by chapter 908 or by other rules adopted by this court or by statute. Wis. Stat. § 908.02(2). Hearsay exceptions are identified in Wis. Stat. §§ 908.03-908.045. The dissent has not pointed to any hearsay exceptions that would allow for the admissibility of Dr. Kotkin's report. Thus, unless chapter 980 creates an exception to the general rule regarding the applicability of the rules of evidence, the rules of evidence apply and govern the proceedings.
¶ 99. Wisconsin. Stat. §980.03(2) states that at any hearing under this chapter, except as provided in §§ 980.09(2)(a) and 980.10, and without limitation by enumeration, the person who is the subject of a sexually violent person petition has the right to counsel, including appointed counsel, the right to remain silent, the right to present and cross-examine witnesses, and the right to have the hearing recorded by a court reporter. *138The exceptions provided govern discharge proceedings, not proceedings for supervised release pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 980.08.
¶ 100. At a proceeding for supervised release, the court shall grant the petition for release unless the state "proves by clear and convincing evidence" that the person is still sexually violent and that it is still substantially probable that the person will engage in acts of sexual violence if not institutionalized. Wis. Stat. § 980.08(4). In other words, evidence must be produced by the state, which must meet its burden, and the person retains the right to cross-examine the witnesses. Inadmissible hearsay cannot be used to circumvent the person's right to cross-examine witnesses against him. There is nothing in Wis. Stat. § 980.08(4) that renders the rules of evidence inapplicable at this proceeding, and nothing that would suggest or create any hearsay exception for Dr. Kotkin's report.
¶ 101. The court of appeals and the dissent each suggest that because Wis. Stat. § 980.08(3) requires the licensed professional to furnish a written report of the examination to the court, it would be absurd to conclude that admissibility was not provided by the statute. Compare State v. Brown, 2004 WI App 33, 269 Wis. 2d 750, ¶¶ 13-14, 676 N.W.2d 555; with Roggensack, J., dissenting, ¶¶ 115-16. I respectfully disagree. Section 980.08(3) merely discusses the procedure for the appointment of court experts and the filing of their reports with the court. That section does not set forth, nor exempt, the rules of evidence to be applied at the proceeding. While the court "may consider. . . the person's mental history and present mental condition,"3 it does so subject to the procedure set forth in Wis. Stat. *139§ 980.03(2) and, because nothing in chapter 980 indicates otherwise, the rules of evidence. As no hearsay-exception exists that would allow Dr. Kotkin's report to be admitted, and because the rules of evidence apply during proceedings involving a petition for supervised release, the trial court should not have considered the report absent Dr. Kotkin's testimony.
¶ 102. For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully concur.

 See Wis. Stat. § 911.02.

 (4) RULES OF EVIDENCE INAPPLICABLE. Chapters 901 to 911, other than ch. 905 with respect to privileges or s. 901.05 with respect to admissibility, do not apply in the following situations:
(a) Preliminary questions of fact. The determination of questions of fact preliminary to admissibility of evidence when the issue is to be determined by a judge under s. 901.14(1).
*137(b) Grand Jury: John Doe proceedings. Proceedings before grand juries or a John Doe proceeding.
(c) Miscellaneous proceedings. Proceedings for extradition or rendition; sentencing, or granting or revoking probation, issuance of arrest warrants, criminal summonses and search warrants; proceedings under s. 971.14(l)(c); proceedings with respect to pretrial release under ch. 969 except where habeas corpus is utilized with respect to release on bail or as otherwise provided in ch. 969.
(d) Small claims actions. Proceedings under ch. 799, except jury trials.

 Wis. Stat. § 980.08(4) (emphasis added).