Court Opinion

ID: 9396633
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-23 13:12:46.745607+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:18.134031
License: Public Domain

2023 WI 41

                   SUPREME COURT                 OF   WISCONSIN
CASE NO.:                 2020AP1213-CR

COMPLETE TITLE:           State of Wisconsin,
                                    Plaintiff-Respondent-Cross-Appellant,
                               v.
                          Corey T. Rector,
                                    Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Respondent.

                              ON CERTIFICATION FROM THE COURT OF APPEALS

OPINION FILED:            May 23, 2023
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS:
ORAL ARGUMENT:            October 12, 2022

SOURCE OF APPEAL:
   COURT:                 Circuit
   COUNTY:                Kenosha
   JUDGE:                 Jason A. Rossell

JUSTICES:
KAROFSKY, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in
which ANN WALSH BRADLEY, DALLET and HAGEDORN, JJ., joined.
REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., filed an opinion concurring in part
and dissenting in part, in which ZIEGLER, C.J., and ROGGENSACK,
J., joined.

NOT PARTICIPATING:

ATTORNEYS:

       For     the       plaintiff-respondent-cross-appellant,         there   were
briefs filed by Winn S. Collins, assistant attorney general,
with whom on the briefs was Joshua L. Kaul, attorney general.
There        was    an   oral   argument    by    Winn    S.   Collins,   assistant
attorney general.

       For     the       defendant-appellant-cross-respondent,         there   were
briefs        filed      by   Andrew   R.   Hinkel,      assistant   state   public
defender.    There   was   an    oral   argument   by    Andrew      R.    Hinkel,
assistant state public defender.

    An      amicus   curiae     brief   was   filed     by   Katie    R.     York,
appellate division director, with whom on the brief was Kelli S.
Thompson, state public defender, for the Wisconsin State Public
Defender.

                                        2
                                                                               2023 WI 41
                                                                       NOTICE
                                                         This opinion is subject to further
                                                         editing and modification.   The final
                                                         version will appear in the bound
                                                         volume of the official reports.
No.         2020AP1213-CR
(L.C. No.      2018CF840)

STATE OF WISCONSIN                                   :            IN SUPREME COURT

State of Wisconsin,

               Plaintiff-Respondent-Cross-Appellant,                        FILED
        v.                                                             MAY 23, 2023
Corey T. Rector,                                                          Sheila T. Reiff
                                                                       Clerk of Supreme Court
               Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Respondent.

KAROFSKY, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in
which ANN WALSH BRADLEY, DALLET and HAGEDORN, JJ., joined.
REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., filed an opinion concurring in part
and dissenting in part, in which ZIEGLER, C.J., and ROGGENSACK,
J., joined.

        APPEAL    from      an   order    of   the   Circuit      Court     for    Kenosha

County, Jason A. Rossell, Judge.                Affirmed.

        ¶1     JILL J. KAROFSKY, J.               This case determines whether

Corey        Rector   must       comply    with      sex    offender        registration

requirements for life under Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1. (2021-

22).1        Wisconsin's sex offender registration statute requires

       All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to
        1

the 2021-22 version unless otherwise indicated.
                                                                             No.        2020AP1213-CR

lifetime registration when a "person has, on 2 or more separate

occasions, been convicted . . . for a sex offense."                                     Wis. Stat.

§ 301.45(5)(b)1.                We are tasked with interpreting the phrase

"separate occasions," and we determine that, in the context of

this       statute,       the    plain       and    ordinary      meaning          of     "separate

occasions" does not refer solely to the number of convictions.

Consequently, the circuit court did not err by ordering Rector

to register as a sex offender for fifteen years rather than

until his death because his five convictions for possession of

child      pornography          were    filed      in     a   single    case       and     occurred

during the same hearing.                     We also hold that the circuit court

did not err in finding Rector ineligible to participate in the

Earned Release Program (ERP).

                                        I.    BACKGROUND

       ¶2        The State filed a criminal complaint charging Rector

with ten counts of possession of child pornography in violation

of Wis. Stat. § 948.12(1m) after seizing over 1,000 offending

images      and    videos        in    Rector's         possession.          During       a   single
hearing,         Rector    pled        guilty      to    five   out    of     ten        counts   of

possession of child pornography.2                         The circuit court3 sentenced

Rector      to    eight     years       initial         confinement     and     ten       years   of

extended supervision on each of the five counts to be served

       Pursuant to the plea agreement, the other five counts of
       2

possession of child pornography were dismissed and the State
agreed not to issue any additional charges based on the other
discovered images.

       The Honorable Jason
       3                                      A.    Rossell     of     the    Kenosha         County
Circuit Court presided.

                                                   2
                                                                     No.     2020AP1213-CR

concurrently       and   ordered     Rector       to    comply   with      sex   offender

registration requirements for fifteen years.                         The court found

Rector ineligible to participate in the ERP, in relevant part

because the offense was not a "substance abuse crime."

      ¶3     The    Department       of    Corrections       (DOC)        requested     the

circuit court amend the Judgment of Conviction (JOC) because it

believed Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1. required Rector to register

as a sex offender for life.               The circuit court denied the motion

to   amend   the     JOC,     determining        that    § 301.45(5)(b)1.         did   not

require lifetime registration because the convictions did not

occur on "separate occasions."                    The State cross-appealed the

denial of the motion to amend.

      ¶4     Rector also filed a postconviction motion to amend the

JOC on the basis that the court improperly determined he was not

eligible to participate in the ERP.                      The circuit court denied

Rector's motion for two reasons: (1) the circuit court explained

that it only authorizes eligibility to participate in the ERP

when substance abuse "directly goes to the criminogenic factor
that caused the crime" and that was not the case here; and (2)

the circuit court was concerned that participation in the ERP

could   lead   to     release       before       the    defendant    had     served     the

statutory minimum sentence.               Rector filed an appeal challenging

the denial of his motion to amend the JOC.

      ¶5     The     court     of    appeals       certified        the    cross-appeal

pursuant to Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 809.61 because, in its view, the

plain      meaning       of     "separate         occasions"        in     Wis.     Stat.
§ 301.45(5)(b)1. appears to conflict with this court's decisions
                                             3
                                                                                No.    2020AP1213-CR

in State v. Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d 664, 350 N.W.2d 647 (1984),

and State v. Hopkins, 168 Wis. 2d 802, 484 N.W.2d 549 (1992).

We      accepted       certification                and         consequently           also        took

jurisdiction over Rector's appeal.

                                         II.       ANALYSIS

      ¶6       We    begin     by        addressing          the      State's         cross-appeal

regarding       Wis.      Stat.         § 301.45(5)(b)1.                and     determine          that

convictions         based    on        charges          filed    in     a     single        case    and

occurring during the same hearing have not occurred on "2 or

more separate occasions."                    Therefore, the circuit court did not

err in requiring Rector to comply with registration requirements

for   only     15    years.             We    then       address        Rector's       appeal       and

determine that the circuit court did not erroneously exercise

its discretion in finding Rector ineligible to participate in

the ERP.

                A.     Sex Offender Registration Requirements

      ¶7       When a person is ordered to comply with sex offender

registration         requirements,              Wisconsin's           statutes             offer    two
options    for      how     long       those       requirements         extend——15          years    or

until    the    offender's             death.           Wisconsin       Stat.      § 301.45(5)(a)

governs when a person must comply with registration requirements

for 15 years, and             § 301.45(5)(b) governs when a person must

comply for life.             Sections 301.45(5)(b)1., 1m., and 2. require

lifetime registration when applicable criteria are met.                                       Section

301.45(5)(b)3.         gives       a    circuit         court    discretion           to    otherwise

order lifetime registration.                    We note that this opinion does not
address    § 301.45(5)(b)3.,                 and    as    such     it       does   not      affect    a
                                                    4
                                                                     No.       2020AP1213-CR

circuit      court's         discretion        to    otherwise       order        lifetime

registration.

      ¶8     We    must      interpret     Wis.       Stat.    § 301.45(5)(b)1.           to

determine whether a person who has been convicted on multiple

counts of possession of child pornography filed within a single

case and whose convictions occurred during the same hearing must

comply with the sex offender registration requirements for life.

This is a question of statutory interpretation that we review de

novo.      State v. Forrett, 2022 WI 37, ¶5, 401 Wis. 2d 678, 974

N.W.2d 422.

      ¶9     In addressing Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1., we first

discern its plain meaning based on the language and context of

the statute.           We next address this court's prior decisions in

Wittrock and Hopkins, which interpreted similar language in Wis.

Stat. § 939.62, and explain why those decisions do not dictate

our interpretation of § 301.45(5)(b)1. in this case.

        1.   The Plain Meaning of Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1.

      ¶10    "Statutory interpretation begins with the language of
the   statute.          If   the     meaning    of    the    statute      is    plain,   we

ordinarily stop the inquiry."                  State ex rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct.

for Dane Cnty., 2004 WI 58, ¶45, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110

(quotations omitted).               In discerning plain meaning, we use the

"common,     ordinary,        and    accepted       meaning"   of    words       and   give

"technical        or     specially-defined           words     or    phrases"          their

"technical or special definitional meaning."                        Id.    Both context

and   structure        of    a   statute   are       important      to     meaning,      and

                                           5
                                                                      No.    2020AP1213-CR

"[s]tatutory language is read where possible to give reasonable

effect to every word, in order to avoid surplusage."                         Id., ¶46.

      ¶11   Wisconsin Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1. reads:

      (b) A person who is covered under sub. (1g)(a), (b),
      (bm), (c), (d), (dd), (dp) or (e) shall continue to
      comply   with    the   [sex   offender   registration]
      requirements of this section until his or her death if
      any of the following applies:

      1. The person has, on 2 or more separate occasions,
      been convicted or found not guilty or not responsible
      by reason of mental disease or defect for a sex
      offense, or for a violation or the solicitation,
      conspiracy or attempt to commit a violation, of a
      federal law, a military law, a tribal law or a law of
      any state that is comparable to a sex offense.
We are asked to determine what it means to be convicted "on 2 or

more separate occasions."4             The State argues that a person meets

the     criteria       of   being     convicted    "on   2       or    more      separate

occasions" when that person has been convicted of two or more

offenses.        Rector      argues    that    a   person    fails          to   meet   the

criteria of being convicted "on 2 or more separate occasions"

when that person is convicted based on charges filed in a single
case,     and    the    convictions      occur     during    the        same     hearing.

According to Rector, the State's interpretation of the statute

reads out the phrase "separate occasions" altogether.                            We agree

with Rector that the plain and unambiguous meaning of the phrase

"separate       occasions,"     given    the   context      of    § 301.45(5)(b)1.,

means that convictions based on charges filed in a single case

      4The parties do not dispute that Rector was convicted of a
sex offense, which is defined to include "a violation . . . of
s. . . . 948.12." Wis. Stat. § 301.45(1d)(b).

                                           6
                                                                         No.       2020AP1213-CR

and    occurring         during   the     same      hearing       do        not    constitute

convictions on "separate occasions."

       ¶12    We begin by defining the phrase "separate occasions."

"Separate" means "set or kept apart: disunited."                               Separate, The

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1645 (3d

ed.    1992).       An    "occasion"     is       "an    event    or    a    happening;      an

incident"; or a "time at which an event occurs."                               Occasion, The

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 1250 (3d

ed. 1992).        Taken together, a separate occasion is an incident

or time at which an event occurred, which is set apart from

another incident or time at which a different event occurred.

       ¶13    The relevant portion of Wis. Stat.                        § 301.45(5)(b)1.

says that a person must comply with registration requirements

until his or her death               if "[t]he person has, on 2 or more

separate          occasions,       been           convicted . . . for                 a     sex

offense . . . ."           It is clear from the sentence structure that

the    "2    or   more    separate      occasions"        phrase       is    modifying      the

conviction for a sex offense rather than the commission of a sex
offense.      The statute refers to one who has "been convicted" for

a sex offense on separate occasions rather than one who "has

committed" a sex offense on separate occasions.                                   Furthermore,

the     statute      is      generally        focused        on        various        possible

dispositions of a case——referencing conviction, a finding of not

guilty or not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect,

a reversed conviction, or a reversed finding of not guilty or

not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect——rather
than    making      any    reference      to       the    details       surrounding         the
                                              7
                                                                 No.    2020AP1213-CR

commission of an offense.            As such, a person must comply with

registration requirements for life if the event of conviction

occurred at two or more separate (set apart) times.

    ¶14     Given the above framework, we must determine whether

the convictions in this case——which were filed in a single case

and occurred during the same hearing——constitute convictions on

"separate occasions."        The common understanding and use of the

phrase     "separate     occasions"           makes    clear     that       Rector's

convictions fall outside the scope of § 301.45(5)(b)1.

    ¶15     Rector offers an illustrative example of the common

usage of separate occasions in his briefing: if a person goes to

the store and buys two apples, one right after the other, have

they purchased apples on two separate occasions?                    No.     Clearly,

the transactions happened on one occasion.                      Conversely, if a

person said they purchased apples on two separate occasions, it

is evident that the apple-purchaser took two trips to the store.

    ¶16     The     United       States   Supreme       Court     also      recently

considered the ordinary meaning of the word "occasion" in Wooden
v. United States, determining that "occasion" commonly refers to

an "event, occurrence, happening, or episode" which "may itself

encompass multiple, temporally distinct activities."                      142 S. Ct.

1063, 1069 (2022).      The Court offered the occasion of a wedding,

which    often    includes   a    ceremony,     cocktail    hour,      dinner,   and

dancing, as an example of one occasion with various activities

that take place at different times.                   Id.   In the context of

criminal behavior, the Court held that an "occasion" "may, in
common usage, include temporally discrete offenses."                         Id. at
                                          8
                                                                                     No.        2020AP1213-CR

1070.       More specifically the court determined that, "[Wooden's]

one-after-another-after-another                           burglary       of        ten     units        in     a

single storage facility occurred on one 'occasion.'"                                                 Id. at

1069.       The United States Supreme Court's analysis is, of course,

not       binding      on    this     court       in          matters         of    state         statutory

interpretation, but the analysis is a persuasive example of the

common understanding of the term "occasion."

          ¶17    Wisconsin         Stat.    § 301.45(5)(b)1.'s                     use     of     the    term

"separate"            to     modify         "occasions"               further              assists           us.

Convictions           that   are     filed       in       a    single     case        and       pronounced

within the same hearing are not significantly "set apart" or

"disunited,"           and    so    are     not       "separate          occasions."                On       the

contrary, when a court pronounces convictions from the same case

in    a    single      hearing,       those       convictions             are        united        by    both

temporal proximity and by the same case filing.

          ¶18    Given      the    common    and          ordinary       understanding              of       the

phrase          "separate     occasions"          as          shown      through           examples          and

dictionary definitions, we hold that Rector's convictions did
not take place on "separate occasions."                                  Like different apples

purchased         during      the    same     trip            to   the    store,           or     different

activities         occurring        at     the    same         wedding,            Rector's        multiple

convictions occurred during the same "occasion."

          ¶19    In   contrast,       the    State            fails      to    offer        any     textual

reading which gives effect to the phrase "separate occasions."

The State reads the statute as if it required a person to comply

with      lifetime         registration          if       that     "person          has      twice       been
convicted."           But the statute actually reads if a "person has, on
                                                      9
                                                                       No.   2020AP1213-CR

2   or       more   separate    occasions,          been   convicted . . . ."          By

ignoring "separate occasions" the State renders it surplusage.

However, "[s]tatutory language is read where possible to give

reasonable effect to every word, in order to avoid surplusage."

Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶46.                      The legislature used the phrase

"separate occasions."            We must attempt to give effect to every

word, and as such, we hold that when a person is convicted based

on charges filed in a single case during the same hearing, then

those convictions have not occurred on "separate occasions."5

              2.    Wittrock, Hopkins, and Wis. Stat. § 939.62(2)

         ¶20    Although the meaning of the statute is clear from its

text,        the    State    argues        that     our    reading     of    Wis.   Stat.

§ 301.45(5)(b)1.            should    be     informed      by   this    court's     prior

interpretation of the term "separate occasions" in the context

of the criminal repeater statute, § 939.62(2), which reads as

follows:

         The actor is a repeater if the actor 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 unreversed.

       The facts of this case——where Rector's convictions were
         5

filed in a single case and occurred during the same hearing——
provide a sufficient basis to determine that the convictions did
not occur on separate occasions.      We leave for another day
whether or not convictions that only meet one of those two
conditions have occurred on separate occasions.

                                              10
                                                                            No.     2020AP1213-CR

We addressed the term "occasions" within this criminal repeater

statute in two cases: State v. Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d 664 and

State v. Hopkins, 168 Wis. 2d 802.

       ¶21     In    the       first      case,       Wittrock      was     sentenced        as     a

repeater after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges and having

previously       been         convicted       of     three       misdemeanors       within        the

preceding five years.                  Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d at 665.                   Wittrock

had been convicted of two of his prior misdemeanors on the same

day during the same hearing, although the conduct that gave rise

to     each     conviction            occurred          on      separate     days     and         was

indisputably not part of the same course of conduct.                                     Id. at

666.          Wittrock         argued     that          the     phrase     "convicted        of     a

misdemeanor         on    3    separate       occasions"         required    three     separate

court appearances in order to qualify as a repeater.                                   Id.        The

court    ultimately           disagreed        and      affirmed     Wittrock's       sentence.

Id.

       ¶22     The       court       in   Wittrock            determined     that    the      word

"occasion,"          as       used     within        § 939.62,       was     ambiguous,           and
defined       the        plain       meaning       of         "occasion"     as     "happening,

incident."           Id.      at     670-71    (quoting         Webster's    New     Collegiate

Dictionary       794       (1977)).           Then,      with    little     analysis    of        the

surrounding words of the statute, the court held that the term

is ambiguous in the context of the repeater statute because the

"incident" referred to could be either the "incident" of the

commission of the crime or the "incident" of conviction.                                          Id.

Determining the language to be ambiguous, the court then looked
to legislative intent——and particularly the legislative history
                                                   11
                                                                        No.    2020AP1213-CR

and purpose of the repeater statute——as was an accepted approach

to statutory interpretation at the time.6                   Id. at 671.             The court

turned    to    a    law     review   article      which    recapped          the    author's

involvement on the advisory committee which worked on the 1949

revisions to the criminal code, including relevant revisions to

the   criminal       repeater      statute.         Id.    at    671-73       (referencing

William A. Platz, The 1949 Revision of the Wisconsin Code of

Criminal    Procedure,         1950   Wis.    L.    Rev.    28).        The     court      also

reviewed the 1949 committee comment on the repeater statute.

Id. at 673.         The court concluded that both sources reflected the

committee's         intent    to   shift   focus     from       prior    sentences         onto

prior crimes and to focus on the quantity of crimes rather than

the time of conviction.            Id. at 673-74.

      ¶23      Finally,      the   court     determined         that    the    purpose      of

repeater statutes, "[r]egardless of the particular phraseology,"

"is to serve as a warning to first offenders.                          Id. at 675.          The

infliction of more severe punishment for a repeater is based

upon his persistent violation of the law after conviction for
previous infractions."             Id. (quoting State v. Midell, 40 Wis. 2d

516, 527, 162 N.W.2d 54 (1968)).                   The court determined that the

legislative         history     and   purpose       of     the     statute          were   not

consistent with a reading of the term "occasion" which referred

to the timing of the conviction.                   Id. at 673-74.             As a result,

      6We have since clarified that, "[j]udicial deference to the
policy choices enacted into law by the legislature requires that
statutory interpretation focus primarily on the language of the
statute." See State ex rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct. for Dane Cnty.,
2004 WI 58, ¶44, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110.

                                             12
                                                                          No.        2020AP1213-CR

the court concluded that convictions for misdemeanors within the

same       hearing,       but   based      on    criminal      activity     that        occurred

independent of each other and on separate days, were convictions

on "separate occasions."                   Id.     The court explicitly left open

the question of whether convictions based on criminal activity

committed      as     part      of   the    same      course    of    conduct        constitute

convictions on "separate occasions."                        Id. at 668.

       ¶24     In Hopkins, the court addressed the question left open

in Wittrock: whether multiple misdemeanors committed within the

same       course    of    conduct      constituted          convictions        on     "separate

occasions" under the repeater statute.                         Hopkins, 168 Wis. 2d at

805-08.        The    court      held      that       the   ambiguous     term       "occasion"

referred to the number of the defendant's convictions and not to

the criminal acts giving rise to such convictions.                               Id. at 805,

807-10.        The    court      in     Hopkins        again   relied     heavily        on   the

underlying purpose of the repeater statute.                          Id. at 811-13.

       ¶25     While the operation of the criminal repeater statute

appears to be settled,7 it does not follow that such operation is

       The legislature made changes to Wis. Stat. § 939.62 at
       7

various times since this court's decisions in Wittrock and
Hopkins and did not make any changes to the "separate occasions"
language, indicating possible legislative acquiescence in the
court's interpretation within the context of that statute. See
Estate of Miller v. Storey, 2017 WI 99, ¶51, 378 Wis. 2d 358,
903 N.W.2d 759 ("legislative inaction in the wake of judicial
construction of a statute indicates legislative acquiescence").

     The concurrence/dissent misfires when it attacks the
majority for pointing out inconsistencies in the Wittrock and
Hopkins    decisions    without    overruling   those   cases.
Concurrence/dissent, ¶85.   We reiterate that this case is not
about whether to overrule Wittrock and Hopkins but whether we
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                                                            No.    2020AP1213-CR

necessarily     transposed       onto   the   sex   offender      registration

statute.   Prior interpretation by this court may be helpful in a

plain meaning analysis when the court has defined a legal term

of art or addressed the context of a closely related statute.8

See Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶¶45-46.            This is sometimes referred

to   as       the        "prior-construction"       canon    of      statutory

interpretation.          See Lightfoot v. Cendant Mortg. Corp., 580 U.S.

82, 95-96 (2017).           However, the court's decisions in Wittrock

and Hopkins do not dictate our decision in this case for three

reasons: (1) Wittrock and Hopkins were not merely defining the

term "occasion" but analyzing what the term referred to in the

unique context of the criminal repeater statute; (2) neither

"occasions" nor "separate occasions" are terms of art; and (3)

Wisconsin's     sex       offender   registration    statute,     Wis.    Stat.

§ 301.45, and criminal repeater statute, § 939.62, are not so

closely related as to dictate a singular usage of the term.                  We

more fully explain each of these reasons in turn.

                    a.    Context and Legislative History
     ¶26   The court in Wittrock was not grappling with the plain

meaning of the term "occasion" in isolation.                Rather the court

should extend those cases' interpretation of Wis. Stat. § 939.62
to a different statute.
     8 The concurrence/dissent confusingly claims that the
majority opinion "holds, at least implicitly, that prior
construction     is     irrelevant   to     plain    meaning."
Concurrence/dissent, ¶56.     On the contrary, we explicitly
recognize that prior-construction is relevant to plain meaning
in certain circumstances.

                                        14
                                                                            No.     2020AP1213-CR

was    determining         what     the    term     "occasion"            meant    within      the

context       of     the    criminal        repeater          statute.            The     court's

dictionary          definition       of     the     term        "occasion"——"happening,

incident"——is consistent with the definition we present above.

Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d at 670 (quoting Webster's New Collegiate

Dictionary         794     (1977)).         The     bulk       of     Wittrock's         analysis

attempts to discern whether "occasion" refers to the incident of

the commission of the crime or the incident of conviction.                                      Of

import, any analysis in Wittrock where we tried to resolve the

ambiguity of "occasion" is irrelevant here since we recognize

that    "occasion"         in    Wis.     Stat.    § 301.45(5)(b)1.               unambiguously

refers to the incident of conviction.

       ¶27    Additionally,         the     Wittrock          analysis      focuses       on   the

legislative         history       and     purpose        of    the     criminal          repeater

statute,      which        is    entirely     different           than     the     legislative

history and purpose of the sex offender registration statute.

As     to    the    sex     offender       registration             statute's      legislative

history,      the        State    argues     that    there          are    three        documents
relevant to our analysis: (1) a DOC report in the statute's

drafting file, (2) a DOC fiscal estimate for the statute, and

(3) a Legislative Council memorandum discussing a related, but

different statute.               We decline to give much weight to these

sources.           These    three    sources       are     less      persuasive         than   the

Wittrock sources——a law review article penned by a drafter of

the    statute      and     a    committee    comment——because              they     differ     in

                                              15
                                                                      No.    2020AP1213-CR

form,       authorship,        and      clarity    with    which     they    demonstrate

legislative intent.9            We consider each source in turn.

       ¶28     First, the DOC report is not a reliable indicator of

legislative intent.               Legislators are not bound to follow, or

even       consider,    a   DOC      report       when    drafting    and    enacting    a

statute.       Additionally, the DOC report does not comment on the

meaning of "separate occasions."

       ¶29     The     other      two     pieces    of    legislative       history     are

equally unenlightening.                 A DOC fiscal estimate references "two

or more separate sexual assault convictions" and a Legislative

Council memorandum references a situation where a person "has

committed crimes . . . on two or more occasions."                           DOC, Fiscal

Estimate – 1995 Session for 1995 Wis. S.B. 182 (May 25, 1995);

Wis. Legis. Council Staff, Information Memorandum 96-18 3 (July

12, 1996).          Not only do these two sources appear to work against

each       other,    with   one      source   referencing      convictions      and     the

other the commission of crimes, but more importantly, neither

source reflects or addresses the language actually implemented
in Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1.                     At bottom, these three sources

fail to illuminate our reading of the statute.

       Perhaps recognizing the significant differences between
       9

the three sources in this case and the sources in Wittrock, the
concurrence/dissent contends that one might draw reasonable
inferences from the three proffered sources that are "analogous"
to   the   inferences  drawn   by   this   court  in   Wittrock.
Concurrence/dissent, ¶101.    The concurrence/dissent argues we
should be bound to the history-based interpretation in Wittrock
because of those analogous inferences.    This proposition runs
contrary to this court's customary approach to statutory
interpretation.

                                              16
                                                                    No.   2020AP1213-CR

       ¶30      In    summary,     the     portions      of        Wittrock——and     by

extension, Hopkins——that are inconsistent with our analysis are

all based on considerations that are irrelevant or inapplicable

in the current context.                 Although the legislative history in

Wittrock        may   have    clarified    the    intent      of    the   legislature

regarding the criminal repeater statute, the legislative history

of   Wis.     Stat.    § 301.45(5)(b)1.         offers   no   analogous     level   of

clarity.

                                 b.     Terms Of Art

       ¶31      Neither      Wittrock     nor     Hopkins     treated      the     term

"occasion" or the phrase "separate occasions" as a legal term of

art.        A phrase can at times take on a specialized meaning that

differs from its common, ordinary meaning, becoming a term of

art.10       If a phrase has taken on a specialized legal meaning,

then     this    court    should   attempt       to   discern      that   specialized

meaning, and prior judicial interpretations of the same phrase

can be a helpful tool in discerning that specialized meaning.11

       A term of art is "[a] word or phrase having a specific,
       10

precise meaning in a given specialty, apart from its general
meaning in ordinary contexts."     Term of Art, Black's Law
Dictionary (11th ed. 2019).

       See Wis. Stat. § 990.01(1) ("All words and phrases shall
       11

be construed according to common and approved usage; but
technical words and phrases and others that have a peculiar
meaning in the law shall be construed according to such
meaning."); see also Mueller v. TL90108, LLC, 2020 WI 7, ¶19,
390 Wis. 2d 34, 938 N.W.2d 566 ("The statutes themselves do not
define the relevant terms.    However, the [relevant] statutory
terms . . . are technical phrases with specific and distinct
meaning in our common law, and we therefore give them their
accepted legal meaning.").

                                           17
                                                                           No.      2020AP1213-CR

The Wittrock and Hopkins courts considered the word "occasion"

ambiguous in the context of the repeater statute and sought to

define the ordinary meaning within that context, primarily by

looking to the legislative history and purpose of the statute.

We likewise believe the phrase "separate occasions" is not a

legal      term    of       art,      but   should    be   given    its    plain,      ordinary

meaning.      Because the phrase is not a legal term of art, it is

of limited value for us to look to a case that defines the same

phrase but does so under a different statute and pays particular

attention         to    the        legislative       history     and      purpose      of    that

statute.12

                                 c.   Closely Related Statutes

      ¶32     Finally, Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1. is not so closely

related to § 939.62(2) that the court must interpret all words

and   phrases          in    a    singular     way    to   avoid    confusion        or     absurd

results.          This       represents        the    primary      point       of   contention

between           our            reading       of      the         statute          and       the

concurrence/dissent's.                         Both        the         State        and       the
concurrence/dissent rely on the prior-construction canon to say

       The concurrence/dissent appears to claim that any word or
      12

phrase that has been authoritatively construed in a particular
context becomes a legal term of art that must forevermore be
given that construction. Concurrence/dissent, ¶67. This court
has never defined the concept of a legal term of art that
broadly and doing so would severely limit the legislature's
ability to use common language in its common and ordinary sense.
Putting that aside, we emphasize that the definition of
"occasion" that we employ is consistent with the definition used
in Wittrock and Hopkins.       Neither case offers a separate
technical definition for the phrase "separate occasions" that we
could apply in this case.

                                                 18
                                                                             No.     2020AP1213-CR

that    the    interpretations                of     Wittrock      and    Hopkins     should    be

incorporated        into       Wis.          Stat.        § 301.45(5)(b)1.          The      prior-

construction canon is an articulation of the principle that when

a particular phrase has been given authoritative construction by

the    courts,          it    is        to     be     understood         according     to      that

construction.           Although this principle is at its strongest when

the court is interpreting a reenactment of the same statute, it

has also been applied to interpretations of related statutes——

although,      as       the     concurrence/dissent                 concedes,       "with     less

force."       See concurrence/dissent, ¶66 (quoting Antonin Scalia &

Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts

322).13

       ¶33    We    begin          by        acknowledging         that    members      of    this

majority have previously voiced their position that canons of

construction are tools in a toolbox of statutory interpretation

and should not be seen as inflexible rules of construction that

override the plain meaning of otherwise unambiguous statutes.14

This    position        hardly       "degrades"            or    "demeans"   the     canons,    as
supporters         of        their       use        have        spoken    similarly.           See

concurrence/dissent, ¶¶80, 82; See also, e.g., Neil M. Gorsuch,

Lecture, Of Lions and Bears, Judges and Legislators, and the

       Despite this concession, the concurrence/dissent charges
       13

ahead, applying the canon with full force in this case.      In
fact, that opinion relies so heavily on this single canon that
it fails to engage in a plain meaning analysis of the words of
the text beyond application of the canon.

       See James v. Heinrich, 2021 WI 58, ¶76, 397 Wis. 2d 517,
       14

960 N.W.2d 350 (Dallet, J., dissenting).

                                                     19
                                                           No.   2020AP1213-CR

Legacy of Justice Scalia, 66 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 905, 917

(2016) (referring to the use of canons as "judges pull[ing] from

the same toolbox").

       ¶34   In this case, however, we need not debate the general

usefulness of canons of construction because even viewed as the

concurrence/dissent presents, the prior-construction canon does

not aid in our analysis here for two reasons.              First, no single

canon of construction will always take precedence over all other

principles of construction.15         And second, the canon does not

govern in this case.       Absent the use of a "term of art," the

prior-construction canon only governs if the different statutes

at issue are "closely related."           On this point everyone appears

to agree.    See concurrence/dissent, ¶¶94, 107.

       ¶35   "Statutes are closely related when they are in the

same    chapter,   reference   one   another,   or   use   similar   terms."

State v. Reyes Fuerte, 2017 WI 104, ¶27, 378 Wis. 2d 504, 904

N.W.2d 773.     Here the two statutes do not fit the definition of

closely related.      It is undeniable that the two statutes reside
in different chapters governing different subject matter.              There

are no cross references between § 301.45 and § 939.62, and the

statutes do not rely on each other or otherwise interact.

       In fact, there is a canon for that——the "Principle of
       15

Interrelating Canons," which suggests that "[n]o canon of
interpretation is absolute.      Each may be overcome by the
strength   of   differing   principles that  point   in   other
directions." See Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading Law:
The Interpretation of Legal Texts 59.

                                     20
                                                                 No.    2020AP1213-CR

       ¶36    The State insists that since both statutes reference

convictions on "separate occasions," they use "similar terms"

and    are    thus   closely      related.16     We        disagree    because   the

legislature's limited use of general terms is hardly enough on

its own to make the statutes closely related.

       ¶37    As an illustrative example, contrast this case with

the related statutes in Bragdon v. Abbott, in which The United

States Supreme Court applied the prior-construction canon.                       524

U.S.    624    (1998).      Bragdon      interpreted   the     provision    of   the

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) which defines disability

as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits

one or more of the major life activities of such individual."

See id. at 630.            In interpreting that definition, the Court

looked to how courts and agencies had applied the definition of

"handicapped individual" in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.                      Id.

at 631.       The court noted that the entire definition in the ADA

"is drawn almost verbatim" from the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Id.         Furthermore,    the    ADA    included     a    statutory     provision
directing that "nothing in this chapter shall be construed to

apply a lesser standard than the standards applied under Title V

       The concurrence/dissent also says that "the justification
       16

for applying the canon seems particularly strong when the phrase
at   issue   seldom   appears   in   the   Wisconsin  statutes."
Concurrence/dissent, ¶94.     This statement appears entirely
unsupported by any authority on the prior-construction canon and
the opinion fails to explain why this would be so.

                                          21
                                                                  No.   2020AP1213-CR

of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973" which created a direct link

between those Acts.17          Id. at 631-32.

       ¶38    There is no such direct link between the sex offender

registration statute and the criminal repeater statute.                          Each

uses    the     phrase    "separate     occasions,"       but     the   surrounding

structure and language of each statute is far from identical.

For example, Wis. Stat. § 939.62(2) looks to "the 5-year period

immediately preceding the commission of the crime for which the

actor presently is being sentenced," while § 301.45(5)(b)1. does

not include a time period and does not refer separately to the

current conviction, but simply looks to whether a person "has,

on two or more separate occasions, been convicted."18                      Unlike the

ADA    in    Bragdon,    which    not   only   included    a    nearly      identical

definition      from     the     Rehabilitation   Act,      but     also     directly

referenced that same act, nothing about the language used in

Wis.    Stat.     § 301.45(5)(b)1.       indicates    that        the   legislature

looked to or copied Wis. Stat. § 939.62(2).

       See also United States v. Davis, 588 U.S. __, 139 S. Ct.
       17

2319, 2329 (2019) where the Court applied a consistent meaning
to terms used in two statute's definitions of "crime of
violence." Both statutes were within the criminal code and the
definitions had "almost identical" language.         Id.    The
referenced definitions shared over 25 identical consecutive
words.

       Wisconsin Stat. § 939.62(2) also uses the language "which
       18

convictions   remain    of   record   and    unreversed,"  while
§ 301.45(5)(b)1. uses different language to accomplish a similar
end, and provides that "[a] conviction or finding of not guilty
or not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect that
has been reversed, set aside or vacated is not a conviction or
finding for purposes of determining . . . whether a person has
been convicted on 2 or more separate occasions."

                                         22
                                                                       No.    2020AP1213-CR

       ¶39       The primary link between the two statutes is their

practical application, namely that both statutes may be relied

upon    during         the    sentencing      of   a   criminal       defendant.        And

although         the     phrase     "separate      occasions"         will    be    applied

differently            depending     on     whether     the    defendant       is     being

sentenced as a criminal repeater under § 939.62(2) or is being

required         to     comply      with     registration           requirements      under

§ 301.45(5)(b)1., any inconsistency or confusion is outweighed

by the clear and plain meaning of § 301.45(5)(b)1.

       ¶40       Even    in   its    strongest     form,      the    prior-construction

canon merely creates a presumption that the legislature intended

to incorporate the court's prior interpretation of a word or

phrase in closely related statutes.                    But that presumption is not

meant       to   counteract       our     oft-quoted   principle       that    "statutory

language is given its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning"

and "if the meaning of the statute is plain, we ordinarily stop

the inquiry."             See State ex rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct. for Dane

Cnty., 2004 WI 58, ¶45, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110.19                              The
presumption is meant to add clarity, not sow confusion.                                  In

other words, fundamentally, we must presume that the legislature

means what it says.                 See Heritage Farms, Inc. v. Markel Ins.

Co., 2009 WI 27. ¶14 n.9, 316 Wis. 2d 47, 767 N.W.2d 652.

       One might also find an articulation of this principle in
       19

the   "ordinary-meaning  canon,"   which   Scalia   and    Garner
characterize   as  "the  most  fundamental   semantic   rule   of
interpretation." See Scalia & Garner, Reading Law at 69.

                                              23
                                                                               No.     2020AP1213-CR

    ¶41      Given        that        Wis.     Stat.          § 301.45(5)(b)1.             does    not

require Rector to comply with registration requirements for life

because he was convicted of five offenses all within a single

case and during the same hearing, and thus was not convicted on

"2 or more separate occasions," the circuit court did not err

when it required registration for only 15 years.

                                  B.     Rector's Crimes

    ¶42      Having explained our reasoning and dispensed with the

counter      arguments,          we     should          be     done     with    our        analysis.

However, before concluding, we are compelled to respond to the

concurrence/dissent's             accusations                charging    that        this    opinion

omits the details of the images found in Rector's possession and

in doing so both "trivializes heinous crimes against children"

and ignores the statutory purpose of public protection.                                            See

concurrence/dissent, ¶¶57, 107.                         Neither accusation holds water.

This opinion omits the details of the images not to trivialize

Rector's crimes but rather because the seriousness of Rector's

crimes is irrelevant to the question of statutory interpretation
before us.       As to the statutory purpose, we attempt to honor

that purpose by deferring to the legislature's policy decisions

as expressed in the words of the statute.

    ¶43      In cases such as this, which involve serious criminal

conduct   perpetrated            against       innocent          and    vulnerable          victims,

attorneys and judges must balance the need for addressing the

facts   of    the    case        with        the    victim's          interest        in    privacy,

sensitivity,        and    respect.                Achieving          this     balance       can   be
challenging.        Undoubtedly, there are cases where a description
                                                   24
                                                                  No.   2020AP1213-CR

of an assault is relevant and significant to the question at

issue.      Clearly, this is not that case.              Here we are faced with

a   straight-forward        question    of    statutory    interpretation.         As

such, the details of the content of the images discovered in

Rector's possession are irrelevant.               Instead, the only relevant

facts are the circumstances surrounding Rector's convictions, as

sufficiently detailed in this opinion.20

      ¶44    There is no disagreement in this case that Rector's

crimes     were   serious.        The   statutory    language      of   Wis.   Stat.

§ 301.45(5)(b)1., however, does not hinge on whether this court

concludes that Rector's crimes were serious.                 It is undisputable

that all sex offenses covered by the sex offender registration

statutory scheme are heinous in nature, thus necessitating the

use of the registry for the protection of the public.                      However,

within that scheme, the legislature, not this court, made policy

decisions regarding which offenders are categorically required

to comply with registration requirements for life and which are

required to comply for 15 years.21                  Our job is to faithfully
interpret     the   words    of   the   statute     in    order   to    discern   the

       Conversely, an example of a legal question that may
      20

necessitate some description of the assaults is if we were asked
to determine if the content of the images constituted child
pornography.   It is undisputed in this case that the images
constitute child pornography.
      21In addition to requiring lifetime registration for those
convicted of a sex offense on two or more separate occasions,
Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1m. also lists specific crimes for
which a single violation requires the offender to comply with
registration requirements for life.        Possession of child
pornography could have been, but was not, included on that list.

                                         25
                                                                  No.     2020AP1213-CR

legislature's        policy     choice,     not   to   impose     our   own     policy

choices.

       ¶45     Nonetheless, our colleagues accuse this opinion of

endangering "some of the most vulnerable members of the public."

Concurrence/dissent,          ¶99.        That    is     simply   not     the    case.

Importantly, nothing in this opinion undermines the ability of a

circuit court to order an offender to comply with registration

requirements for life, even if the offender is not otherwise

required by the statutes to register for longer than fifteen

years under Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)3.                   Said differently, this

opinion does not give any sex offender blanket protection from

lifetime registration.

       ¶46    In Rector's case, the State did not ask the circuit

court to order that Rector comply with registration requirements

for    life    under    § 301.45(5)(b)3.           The    State    only     requested

lifetime registration under § 301.45(5)(b)1., and that is the

only legal question we address today.                    It is irresponsible to

suggest that we are endangering vulnerable members of the public
by narrowly addressing the legal issue before us.

              C.    Eligibility For The Earned Release Program

       ¶47    We now turn to Rector's appeal challenging the circuit

court's finding that Rector was ineligible to participate in the

ERP.    We review the circuit court's sentencing decision to deny

a defendant participation in the ERP for an erroneous exercise

of discretion.         Wis. Stat. § 973.01(3g) ("the court shall, as

part    of    the    exercise    of   its      sentencing    discretion,        decide
whether the person being sentenced is eligible or ineligible to
                                          26
                                                                         No.       2020AP1213-CR

participate       in    the     earned      release        program.").         A    court   has

erroneously       exercised          its    discretion       if   it    imposes       sentence

"without the underpinnings of an explained judicial reasoning

process," State v. Loomis, 2016 WI 68, ¶30, 371 Wis. 2d 235, 881

N.W.2d 749 (quoting McCleary v. State, 49 Wis. 2d 263, 278, 182

N.W.2d 512 (1971)), or if it holds a "predisposition . . . so

specific or rigid so as to ignore the particular circumstances

of the individual offender."                   State v. Ogden, 199 Wis. 2d 566,

573, 544 N.W.2d 574 (1996).

     ¶48    Rector           argues    that     the    circuit         court       erroneously

exercised    its       discretion          because    it    employed     a     "preconceived

policy of sentencing that is 'closed to individual mitigating

factors.'"             Id.     at     571     (quoting       State      v.     Martin,      100

Wis. 2d 326, 327, 302 N.W.2d 58 (Ct. App. 1981)).

     ¶49    In     Ogden,       we    remanded       for    resentencing        because     the

circuit court denied the defendant Huber release22 for child care

purposes     based       on     an    impermissible          preconceived           sentencing

policy.     Id. at 572.             The circuit court stated that it did not
allow     Huber    privileges          for     child       care   except       in     "extreme

circumstances" because "number one, it is all too often abused.

Somebody becomes real interested in a child only after they have

been sentenced to jail . . . ."                  Id.       Thus, the circuit court in

Ogden not only espoused a preconceived sentencing policy, but

used generalized references to the likelihood of abuse and other

     22Huber release grants leave privileges to county jail
prisoners for purposes such as employment, healthcare, attending
to family needs, and more. See Wis. Stat. § 303.08.

                                               27
                                                                      No.     2020AP1213-CR

defendants' past involvement with their children to justify its

decision      rather     than        assessing        the    defendant's           specific

relationship and involvement with her child and her likelihood

of abusing Huber privileges.

       ¶50     The record before us is distinguishable from Ogden.

In this case, the circuit court set forth a sentencing policy

that    inherently       relied        on     individualized          factors——namely,

whether substance abuse goes "to the criminogenic factor that

caused the crime."           The circuit court went on to explain: "So if

there's an operating while intoxicated case or maybe a domestic

violence case in which alcohol was used or in some way, shape[,]

or form the substance abuse was the reason for the crime."                               The

circuit court explicitly explained that it approves eligibility

for the ERP if substance abuse "was a reason for the crime" but

"[i]n this case it's a possession of child pornography."                                 This

is sufficient to show that the circuit court was not "closed to

individual mitigating factors."                     Id. at 571.       The court simply

found     that     Rector's        individual       mitigating       factors       did   not
warrant      eligibility      in    the    ERP.       The   circuit        court   did    not

erroneously         exercise        its      discretion        by     denying        Rector

eligibility for participation in the ERP.                      Because we affirm the

circuit court's decision on these grounds, we do not address the

circuit court's other grounds for denying eligibility.

                                    III.    CONCLUSION

       ¶51    We    affirm     the     circuit       court's     order       denying      the

State's request to amend the JOC as Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1.
does    not        require     that        Rector     comply        with     registration
                                             28
                                                   No.   2020AP1213-CR

requirements until his death.        Rector's five convictions for

possession of child pornography were filed in a single case and

occurred during the same hearing.     Consequently, the convictions

did not occur on separate occasions.     We also affirm the circuit

court's order denying Rector's request to amend the JOC as the

circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion.

    By the Court.—The order of the circuit court is affirmed.

                                29
                                                               No.   2020AP1213-CR.rgb

       ¶52    REBECCA     GRASSL    BRADLEY,      J.      (concurring       in     part,

dissenting in part).

       Where once certain words in an Act of Parliament have
       received a judicial construction in one of the
       Superior Courts, and the Legislature has repeated them
       without any alteration in a subsequent statute, I
       conceive that the Legislature must be taken to have
       used them according to the meaning which a Court of
       competent jurisdiction has given to them.
Ex Parte Campbell, (1870) L.R. 5 Ch. App. 703, 706 (Eng.).

       ¶53    The primary issue in this case turns on the meaning of

the phrase "2 or more separate occasions."                      Under Wis. Stat.

§ 301.45(5)(b)1. (2019–20)1 ("the repeat sex offender statute"),

a person who has "been convicted" of "a sex offense" on "2 or

more separate occasions" must register as a sex offender for

life.        Corey   T.   Rector   was    convicted      of   five   sex    offenses,

stemming from the same case.               The State argues each conviction

constitutes a "separate occasion," requiring Rector to register

as a sex offender for life.              Rector contends convictions entered

in   close     temporal     proximity      or   in     the    same   case    are    not
"separate      occasions."         The   majority       erroneously    rejects      the

State's construction in favor of Rector's.

       ¶54    The    prior-construction         canon    readily     resolves      this

issue.       See generally Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner, Reading

Law:       The Interpretation of Legal Texts 322 (2012).                   Under this

canon, when judicial constructions "have settled the meaning of

an existing statutory provision, repetition of the same language

       Unless otherwise noted, all subsequent references to the
       1

Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2019–20 version.

                                           1
                                                                             No.    2020AP1213-CR.rgb

in   a     new        statute"                addressing      similar           subject         matter

presumptively incorporates these constructions.                                    See Bragdon v.

Abbott, 524 U.S. 624, 645 (1998) (citing Lorillard v. Pons, 434

U.S. 575, 580–81 (1978)).                       Shortly before the enactment of the

repeat sex offender statute, and in an analogous context, this

court    held       multiple         convictions           each       constitute         a    "separate

occasion," even if the convictions occur in the same case or

stem from the same course of conduct.                                  State v. Hopkins, 168

Wis. 2d 802,         805,          484    N.W.2d 549        (1992);       see      also       State    v.

Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d 664, 666, 350 N.W.2d 647 (1984).                                               This

background informs a reasonable person's understanding of the

language       in    the       repeat      sex     offender       statute.           See      State    v.

Yakich,       2022     WI 8,             ¶35,      400     Wis. 2d 549,            970       N.W.2d 12.

Applying the canon, this court should hold Rector was convicted

of "a sex offense" on "2 or more separate occasions"; therefore,

he is required to register as a sex offender for life.                                        See Wis.

Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1.

     ¶55       Application               of     the       prior-construction                 canon     is
supported by other indicators of meaning.                                    Its application is

consistent          with       a    statutorily           defined      purpose       of       the    sex-

offender registry.                  See Wis. Stat. § 301.001 (explaining one

purpose of the registry is to protect the public); see also

Scalia     &        Garner,          Reading        Law,     at        217    ("A . . . purpose

clause . . . is            a       permissible        indicator         of    meaning.").             Its

application is also consistent with this court's decision in

State    ex     rel.       Kaminski           v.    Schwarz       a    few    years          after    the
enactment of the repeat sex offender statute.                                      See 2001 WI 94,

                                                      2
                                                                        No.    2020AP1213-CR.rgb

¶33     n.8,        245    Wis. 2d 310,        630       N.W.2d 164.            Additionally,

extrinsic       sources        confirm      this     plain-meaning            analysis.          See

James      v.       Heinrich,      2021     WI 58,       ¶26,    397     Wis. 2d 517,            960

N.W.2d 350            (explaining          extrinsic        sources           are       sometimes

considered to confirm a plain-meaning analysis (citing State ex

rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct. for Dane Cnty., 2004 WI 58, ¶51, 271

Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110)).

       ¶56      The majority commits at least three errors that cause

it    to   incorrectly            conclude    the       prior-construction              canon     is

inapplicable.             First, the majority holds, at least implicitly,

that prior construction is irrelevant to plain meaning.                                   Second,

the majority insinuates the canon's application is inapposite

because, in its view, the prior decisions on which the canon's

application          is    predicated       were     wrongly     decided——although               the

majority does not overrule them.                        Lastly, the majority suggests

the     presence          of     trivial     differences         between        two      statutes

presents        a    compelling      reason        to    disregard      the     canon.           The

majority is wrong on each count.                        I respectfully concur in part
and dissent in part.2

                                      I.     BACKGROUND

       ¶57      The       majority    omits        from    its        opinion       a    thorough

description          of    the    facts,     dismissing         the    heinous          nature   of

Rector's crimes as "irrelevant" and scrapping statutory purpose

from its purportedly plain meaning analysis.                             See majority op.,

       The majority correctly concludes the circuit court did not
       2

err in denying Rector's request to participate in the Earned
Release Program.   Accordingly, I join paragraphs 47 through 50
of the majority opinion.

                                               3
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¶¶42–43   (holding       the   seriousness        of   Rector's       crimes    is

"irrelevant").         Contrary    to   the    majority's    position,       "[i]t

is . . . customary for any judicial opinion to relay the facts

of the case"——sometimes even when the relevance of particular

facts is debatable.3      Becker v. Dane County, 2022 WI 63, ¶89, 403

Wis. 2d 424,     977     N.W.2d 390     (Rebecca       Grassl     Bradley,     J.,

dissenting).       Rector's       crimes      illustrate    why     the   State's

     3 Relevancy is often in the eye of the beholder. In Doubek
v. Kaul, we considered whether Daniel Doubek's misdemeanor
conviction for disorderly conduct constituted a crime of
domestic violence, thereby prohibiting him from owning a
firearm.   2022 WI 31, 401 Wis. 2d 575, 973 N.W.2d 756.    In a
unanimous opinion, this court concluded the crime did not, as a
matter of law, constitute domestic violence. Id., ¶1. Justice
Jill J. Karofsky opened her concurring opinion with the
following description of the crime:

     Late in the evening on August 21, 1993, Doubek's
     estranged wife was in her home alone with their four-
     year-old daughter.   While talking with her sister on
     the phone, the line suddenly went dead.         Minutes
     later, Doubek broke through the front door, punching a
     hole in the glass so he could unlock it from the
     inside. Without his wife's permission, Doubek entered
     her home armed with a 2x4 slab of lumber. Raising the
     2x4 above his head, he told his wife she "was dead."
     She asked her husband to leave and then went to the
     door, yelling out to her neighbors for help.     Doubek
     threatened that if she did not move away from the
     door, he would "let her have it." The two eventually
     went outside to avoid waking their young daughter.
     Once outside, Doubek told his wife he did not care
     what would happen to him if he killed her, even if it
     meant he lost custody of their daughter.      About 30
     minutes later, Doubek left.

Id., ¶23 (Karofsky, J., concurring). Notably, Justice Karofsky
relayed this detailed description of Doubek's crime despite the
impossibility of preserving the victims' anonymity.     Doubek's
estranged wife and daughter were identified publicly.    Justice
Karofsky   acknowledged  the   majority   opinion  was  "legally
correct," rendering her entire opinion unnecessary. Id., ¶25.

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                                                           No.   2020AP1213-CR.rgb

proffered       interpretation     is   consistent      with     the   statutory

purpose of protecting the public——particularly children.                       See

infra Section III.A.

    ¶58     In 2018, the National Center for Missing and Exploited

Children reported to the Wisconsin Department of Justice that

Rector,     a   middle-aged      man,   may   possess      child   pornography.

Police executed a search warrant at Rector's home, and, as the

majority notes, "[t]he State . . . seiz[ed] over 1,000 offending

images and videos in Rector's possession."4                 Majority op., ¶2.

The State contextualizes Rector's crimes in its opening brief:

    [T]en   videos   contained   graphic   and   disturbing
    recordings of child pornography with multiple sexual
    assaults of children, including:     (1) an adult male
    having anal intercourse with a prepubescent female;
    (2) an adult male having sexual intercourse with a
    prepubescent female; (3) an adult male appearing to
    perform oral sex on a female toddler; (4) an adult
    male performing oral sex on a prepubescent female's
    anus and the child performing oral sex on the adult;
    (5) a bondage recording of a naked prepubescent female
    performing oral sex on an adult male with the child
    bound in rope and wearing a leather collar; (6) a
    prepubescent female performing oral sex on an adult
    male with the child spitting out ejaculation fluid;
    (7) a prepubescent female performing oral sex on an
    adult male with the adult ejaculating onto the child's
    mouth and chin; (8) a nude prepubescent female rubbing
    her vagina with a toothbrush before inserting it in
    her anus; (9) a prepubescent female child masturbating
    her vaginal and anus area; and (10) a pubescent female
    exposing her breast, vagina, and anus to the camera.
Rector    himself——not    his     attorney——told     the    circuit    court   he

"wasn't the one who was violating" the dignity of the children

    4  Given its definition of relevancy, it is unclear why the
majority notes the State "seiz[ed] over 1,000 offending images
and videos." Rector was charged with ten offenses and convicted
of five. See majority op., ¶2 & n.2.

                                        5
                                                                   No.    2020AP1213-CR.rgb

in these videos because he was not the one performing the sexual

assaults.5                    Rector      acknowledged           merely       that      he

"possibly . . . re-victimized"                  them     "even    though     they    don't

know" that he possessed the videos.

       ¶59       The State charged Rector with ten counts of possession

of   child        pornography       contrary       to   Wis.     Stat.    §§ 948.12(1m),

(3)(a), and 939.50(3)(d) (2017–18).                     As the majority notes, the

parties agree that possession of child pornography is a "sex

offense" for the purpose of sex-offender registration.                           Majority

op.,       ¶11    n.4    (quoting      Wis.   Stat.     § 301.45(1d)(b)      (2021–22)).

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Rector pled guilty to five counts,

and the other five counts were dismissed.                        The State agreed not

to   issue        additional      charges      related    to     materials    discovered

during the same search and to dismiss a separate, unrelated

matter.          During the plea colloquy, Rector was asked for his plea

to each count individually.                   After Rector said "guilty" for the

fifth time, the circuit court accepted his pleas, found Rector

"guilty . . . in Counts 1 through 5," and entered the judgment
of conviction.

       ¶60       At     the   sentencing      hearing,    the    circuit     court   asked

whether sex-offender registration was required.                           The prosecutor

was unsure, so the court relied on a pre-sentence investigation

report, which recommended registration for 15 years.                           The court

accepted this recommendation.                   The court also sentenced Rector

       The Honorable Jason A. Rossell, Kenosha County Circuit
       5

Court, presided.

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to eight years of initial confinement and ten years of extended

supervision on each count to be served concurrently.

       ¶61     The Department of Corrections (DOC) later moved the

circuit court to amend the judgment of conviction to require

Rector    to    register    as     a   sex       offender   for    life.         The   DOC

explained lifetime registration was required under the repeat

sex offender statute because Rector was convicted of multiple

sex     offenses     and    each       conviction      constituted         a     separate

occasion.       The DOC referenced a 2017 Attorney General opinion,

in which the Attorney General construed the phrase "on 2 or more

separate occasions" in Wis. Stat. § 301.46(2m)(am) (2017–18), a

closely related statute enacted at the same time as the repeat

sex offender statute.         See Opinion of Wis. Att'y Gen. to Jon E.

Litscher, Sec'y of the Wis. DOC, OAG-02-17 (Sept. 1, 2017).

Section      301.46(2m)(am)      addresses         circumstances        under    which    a

government agency is required to notify local law enforcement

upon the release of a sex offender into the community.                                 The

Attorney General concluded the number of "separate occasions" is
"the     number    of   convictions,         including       multiple      convictions

imposed at the same time and based on the same complaint."                             Id.,

¶2.

       ¶62     Rector objected, and the circuit court denied DOC's

motion, reasoning Rector's sex offense convictions did not occur

on     different     occasions.          The      court     concluded      the     phrase

"separate      occasions"    in    the    repeat      sex    offender      statute       is

ambiguous.        It then performed a "fresh analysis" to resolve the

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ambiguity, rather than examining how this court has construed

that phrase in an analogous statute.

       ¶63    Rector appealed the circuit court's decision denying

him eligibility for an Earned Release Program, and the State

cross-appealed       on       the    sex-offender        registration       issue.       The

court of appeals certified the appeals to this court.                            The court

of appeals noted this court held, in a similar context, "the

phrase 'separate occasions' . . . meant each separate conviction

even when multiple convictions occurred in the same proceeding,

at    the    same    time[.]"          State       v.    Rector,     No. 2020AP1213-CR,

unpublished certification, at 2 (Wis. Ct. App. Nov. 24, 2021).

It emphasized that if this court were to deny certification, the

court of appeals would be "tasked with defining the same phrase"

that this court "already defined" in two of its decisions.                               Id.

This court accepted certification.

                               II.    STANDARD OF REVIEW

       ¶64    The    State's         cross-appeal         requires        this   court    to

construe      the        repeat       sex   offender         statute.            Statutory
construction        is    a   question      of     law    subject     to    this   court's

independent review.             See State v. McKellips, 2016 WI 51, ¶29,

369 Wis. 2d 437, 881 N.W.2d 258 (citing Shannon E. T. v. Alicia

M. V.M., 2007 WI 29, ¶31, 299 Wis. 2d 601, 728 N.W.2d 636).

                                     III.   ANALYSIS

 A.    Application of the Prior-Construction Canon Requires Rector
               to Register as a Sex Offender for Life.
       ¶65    The repeat sex offender statute provides:

       (b) A person who is covered under sub. (1g) (a), (b),
           (bm), (c), (d), (dd), (dp) or (e) shall continue to

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             comply with the requirements of this section until
             his or her death if any of the following applies:

             1.   The person has, on       2 or more separate
                  occasions, been convicted or found not guilty
                  or not responsible by reason of mental disease
                  or defect for a sex offense, or for a
                  violation, or the solicitation, conspiracy or
                  attempt to commit a violation, of a federal
                  law, a military law, a tribal law or a law of
                  any state that is comparable to a sex offense.
                  A conviction or finding of not guilty or not
                  responsible by reason of mental disease or
                  defect that has been reversed, set aside or
                  vacated is not a conviction or finding for
                  purposes of determining under this subdivision
                  whether a person has been convicted on 2 or
                  more separate occasions.
Wis. Stat. § 301.45(5)(b)1. (emphasis added).

       ¶66    The     State's    argument         is     grounded        in   the     prior-

construction canon, which holds that "[i]f a . . . phrase has

been   authoritatively          interpreted        by    the     highest      court    in   a

jurisdiction, . . . a later version of that act perpetuating the

wording      is   presumed      to   carry       forward       that   interpretation."

Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at 322.                      Even more broadly, "the

canon . . . applies (though with less force) to interpretations

of the same wording in related statutes."                      Id.; see also Shambie

Singer, 3A Sutherland Statutes & Statutory Construction § 67:3

n.52 (8th ed. last updated Nov. 2022) ("The prior construction

canon of statutory interpretation teaches that if courts have

settled the meaning of an existing provision, the enactment of a

new    provision        that    mirrors          the    existing         statutory      text

indicates, as a general matter, the new provision has that same

meaning."           (citing    Lightfoot     v.        Cendant    Mortg.      Corp.,     137
S. Ct. 553 (2017))); Bryan A. Garner et al., The Law of Judicial

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Precedent         346     (2016)        (explaining        "when         a      legislature

incorporates provisions of an older law into a new law" after

the older law has been construed, the new law presumptively

receives the same construction).                    As the United State Supreme

Court stated:           "In adopting the language used in the earlier

act,    Congress        'must   be     considered    to    have     adopted        also    the

construction given by this Court to such language, and made it a

part of the enactment.'"               Shapiro v. United States, 335 U.S. 1,

16 (1948) (quoting Hecht v. Malley, 265 U.S. 144, 153 (1924)).

       ¶67    The       prior-construction           canon        stems          from      the

precedential nature of common law jurisprudence:                             once a phrase

has been authoritatively construed in a particular context, it

acquires a particular meaning in a "technical legal sense"——even

if    the    phrase      has    a    different     meaning    in    common         parlance.

Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at 324.                        For example, the word

"person" in common parlance means a "human being," but in a

legal document, it likely also "denotes a corporation" or "other

entity[.]"          Id. at 73.           Contrary to the majority's view, a
phrase does not have to be a "legal term of art" prior to its

initial construction——it becomes one through its construction.

See, e.g., majority op., ¶25 (citing Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633,

¶¶45–46);      see      also    id.,     ¶31.      "The     bar    is        unquestionably

justified in relying on a decision (even a single decision) of

the    jurisdiction's          highest     court   regarding       the       meaning      of   a

certain word or phrase that is repeated in a later statute."

Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at 325.                      Unfortunately, "[c]ourts
as    well   as     advocates       have   been    known     to    overlook        technical

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senses of ordinary words——senses that might bear directly on

their decisions."     Id. at 74.    The majority opinion presents a

prime example.

    ¶68   The State discusses a different basis for the prior-

construction     canon:   reasonable    people   "presume    that    the

legislature acts with full knowledge of existing statutes and

how the courts have interpreted them."       Mallow v. Angove, 148

Wis. 2d 324, 330, 434 N.W.2d 839 (Ct. App. 1988) (citing C.L. v.

Edson, 140 Wis. 2d 168, 181, 409 N.W.2d 417 (Ct. App. 1987)).

Although this "fanciful presumption of legislative knowledge,"6

is not the soundest basis for the canon, this court has long

invoked it:

    All statutes are presumed to be enacted by the
    legislature with full knowledge of the existing
    condition   of  the   law   and  with   reference  to
    it, . . . they are therefore to be construed in
    connection with and in harmony with the existing law,
    and as a part of a general and uniform system of
    jurisprudence, that is, they are to be construed with
    a reference to the whole system of law of which they
    form a part.
Wis. Carry, Inc. v. City of Madison, 2017 WI 19, ¶62 n.44, 373

Wis. 2d 543, 892 N.W.2d 233 (quoting Town of Madison v. City of

Madison, 269 Wis. 609, 614, 70 N.W.2d 249 (1955)) (ellipsis in

the original).

    ¶69   The practical implications of the prior-construction

canon are the same, at least in this case, regardless of the

rationale for the canon:     "the meaning and effect of statutes

are to be determined in connection, not only with the common

    6  Antonin Scalia & Bryan A. Garner,         Reading    Law:     The
Interpretation of Legal Texts 324 (2012).

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law, . . . and      the    constitution,            but       also    with     reference           to

other statutes . . . and the decisions of the courts."                                      Town of

Madison,    269    Wis. at      614    (quoting          82    C.J.S.        Statutes         § 362)

(ellipses in the original).

    ¶70     The    State     notes         the    phrase       at    issue,        "2       or   more

separate     occasions,"        is     materially             identical        to       a    phrase

appearing    in    another      statute,          Wis.    Stat.       § 939.62          (1991–92)

("the   repeat     offender     statute").               That       statute    enhanced           the

penalty    for    "repeaters."              In    relevant          part,     it    defined         a

repeater as a person "convicted of a misdemeanor on 3 separate

occasions" during the 5-year period immediately preceding the

commission of the crime for which the person was presently being

sentenced.       § 939.62(2) (1991–92) (emphasis added).

    ¶71     In 1984 and again in 1992, this court construed the

phrase "3 separate occasions" in the repeat offender statute.

In State v. Wittrock, the defendant was convicted of disorderly

conduct in 1977.         119 Wis. 2d at 666.               In 1980, he was convicted

of two counts of disorderly conduct in one case, stemming from
separate events.          Id.        In 1981, he was charged with various

crimes.     Id. at 665.         The issue was whether the two disorderly

conduct    convictions       from      the       1980    case       constituted             separate

occasions, even though the convictions arose from one case.                                       Id.

at 666–67.

    ¶72     The     arguments         in    Wittrock          mirrored        the       arguments

advanced    in    this     case.           The    State       argued        each    conviction

constituted a separate occasion.                   Id. at 667.           In contrast, the

                                             12
                                                               No.   2020AP1213-CR.rgb

defendant    argued      "3   separate     occasions"       meant    three    separate

court appearances.        Id.

    ¶73     This    court       deemed     "separate      occasions"       ambiguous,

consulted      legislative      history,      and    considered      public       policy

implications.       Id. at 671–75.            The majority in this case does

not reconcile its holding that the phrase "separate occasions"

is plain with this court's previous holding in Wittrock that the

phrase is ambiguous.          At a minimum, the phrase is also ambiguous

in the repeat sex offender statute.

    ¶74     After declaring "separate occasions" ambiguous, this

court   held     each    disorderly      conduct     conviction      constituted        a

separate    occasion.         Id.   at    674.       It   explained     the    statute

focuses     on   the     "quantity       of    crimes,"      not     the     "time     of

conviction."            Id.      Accordingly,         the    disorderly        conduct

convictions      were     separate       occasions    even     though      they      were

adjudicated in the same case.7                 Notably, this court held open

    7  The majority suggests this court's consideration of
"legislative intent" in Wittrock is indicative of the "accepted
approach to statutory interpretation at the time."      Majority
op., ¶22.   It cites no authority for this proposition, but it
does state in a footnote, "[w]e have since clarified that,
'[j]udicial deference to the policy choices enacted into law by
the legislature requires that statutory interpretation focus
primarily on the language of the statute.'"        Id., ¶22 n.6
(quoting State ex rel. Kalal v. Cir. Ct. for Dane Cnty., 2004
WI 58,   ¶44,   271   Wis. 2d 633,   681   N.W.2d 110)   (second
modification in the original).

     Reality is more nuanced. At the time Wittrock was decided,
"ascertainment of legislative intent" was "the frequently-stated
goal of statutory interpretation," but "our cases generally
adhere[d] to a methodology that relie[d] primarily on intrinsic
sources of statutory meaning and confine[d] resort to extrinsic
sources of legislative intent to cases in which the statutory
language [wa]s ambiguous."        Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶43
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                                                         No.   2020AP1213-CR.rgb

whether convictions for crimes constituting a single course of

conduct qualify as separate occasions.         Id. at 668.

    ¶75   In State v. Hopkins, the defendant argued he was not a

repeater because the conduct underlying two of his three prior

convictions stemmed from events occurring on the same day.                  168

Wis. 2d at 807.       Specifically, the defendant was arrested for

possession of cocaine and then gave officers a false name.                  Id.

He was convicted of both possession of cocaine and obstructing

an officer.     Id.      Following reasoning similar to Wittrock's,

this court held the defendant was a repeater because "[t]he

'occasion'    referred    to   in   the   statute   is    the    occasion    of

conviction for each of the three crimes.                 Thus, all that is

required by the statute is that a defendant be convicted of

three misdemeanors within the five-year period."                 Id. at 805.

(citations omitted).      Additionally, the test for ambiguity
employed in Wittrock is effectively the same test this court
currently employs.    Compare id., ¶47 ("The test for ambiguity
generally keeps the focus on the statutory language: a statute
is ambiguous if it is capable of being understood by reasonably
well-informed persons in two or more senses."          (citations
omitted)), with State v. Wittrock, 119 Wis. 2d 664, 669–70, 350
N.W.2d 647 (1984) ("This court has often stated that the
threshold question to be addressed by this court when construing
a statute is whether the statutory term is ambiguous.           A
statutory term is deemed ambiguous if reasonable persons could
disagree as to its meaning.     However, whenever a case such as
this reaches the court, it naturally follows that the parties
will obviously disagree as to the term's meaning.     The court,
then, will look to the language of the statute itself to
determine whether well-informed persons should become confused
as to a term's meaning.        Primary recourse is to statutory
language itself. When this court looks at the language utilized
in . . . [the repeat offender statute] the statute must be
interpreted on the basis of the plain meaning of its terms."
(citations omitted)).

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                                                           No.    2020AP1213-CR.rgb

Accordingly, "each conviction for a misdemeanor constitutes a

separate occasion[.]"       Id.      This court emphasized that "it is

the number of convictions that is important rather than when the

crimes were committed."8      Id.

     ¶76    The    State   argues     Wittrock      and    Hopkins       construed

"separate    occasions"     to      have    a     particular      meaning,      and

reasonable people understand the repetition of that phrase in

related    and    subsequently    enacted       statutes   to    bear    the   same

     8 In Hopkins, this court rejected a surplusage argument
nearly identical to the surplusage rationale the majority
adopts. See majority op., ¶¶11, 19. As this court explained:

     [The defendant] next contends that this court is bound
     by his interpretation of the statute by [the rule
     that] . . . [s]tatutes should be construed so that
     effect   is   given   to   each   word . . . .     [The
     defendant's] argument . . . is that a finding that a
     person can be a repeater based on two or more
     misdemeanors arising out of a single course of conduct
     renders   surplusage   the   phrase   "on   3  separate
     occasions."    [The defendant] . . . maintains that if
     the legislature had intended that the number of prior
     convictions would define a repeater, its use of the
     phrase "on 3 separate occasions" was unnecessary. The
     legislature could have merely said "convicted of 3
     misdemeanors."

     . . . .

     [W]e disagree that our interpretation fails to give
     effect to every word in the statute. In this opinion,
     we have concluded that each entry of conviction
     against a defendant constitutes a separate occasion
     for purposes of the repeat offender statute.    Thus,
     contrary to . . . [the defendant's] assertions, our
     interpretation of the statute gives meaning to the
     phrase "on 3 separate occasions."

State v. Hopkins, 168            Wis. 2d 802, 813–14,            484    N.W.2d 549
(1992).    The majority          does not reconcile              its    surplusage
rationale with Hopkins.

                                      15
                                                                    No.    2020AP1213-CR.rgb

meaning.      Wittrock and Hopkins therefore collectively inform how

a reasonable person interprets the repeat sex offender statute,

considering        these        cases   were       decided     shortly        before       the

enactment of that statute.                 Specifically, Wittrock was decided

in 1984 and Hopkins in 1992.                    In 1995, the court of appeals

applied     the    rule    articulated        in   these     cases.        See     State    v.

Koeppen,     195    Wis. 2d 117,        126    n.4,    536    N.W.2d 386          (Ct.   App.

1995)     ("A     conviction       of    a    misdemeanor          on     three    separate

occasions only requires convictions of three prior misdemeanors,

not three separate court appearances."                        (citing Wittrock, 119

Wis. 2d at 674)).          In mid-1996, the repeat sex offender statute

and its companion, Wis. Stat. § 301.46(2m)(am), were created by

the   same      act,   and       both   statutes       use    the       phrase    "separate

occasions."        1995 Wis. Act 440, §§ 72, 75.                    Given this timing,

the     State     emphasizes       "[u]nder . . . [the              prior-construction]

canon[,] . . . 'separate occasions' receives its accepted legal

meaning      under        the     Wittrock-Hopkins           interpretation."                A

discussion of this series of events is conspicuously absent from
the   majority      opinion,       which      treats    the    repeat       sex    offender

statute as if it were enacted before Wittrock and Hopkins.

      ¶77    In    contrast,        Rector     rejects       the    prior-construction

canon.      Rector seems to take issue with the very idea that prior

construction is relevant to plain meaning.                           He also seems to

argue Wittrock and Hopkins were wrongly decided, theorizing this

court    over-relied        on    legislative       history.            Additionally,      he

argues the canon is inapplicable because the cases construed, in
his view, a materially different statute.

                                              16
                                                                          No.   2020AP1213-CR.rgb

       ¶78    Instead      of    applying             the     prior-construction            canon,

Rector primarily argues that multiple convictions occur on the

same occasion unless they are separated by a temporal lapse.                                   He

quotes       an    abrogated     Seventh             Circuit     decision:          "the     term

'occasion'         incorporates           a     temporal       distinction,         i.e.,      one

occasion cannot be simultaneous with another."                                   United States

v. Hudspeth, 42 F.3d 1015, 1023 n.16 (7th Cir. 1994) (en banc),

abrogated on other grounds by                         Shepard v. United States, 544

U.S. 13 (2005).           At points, Rector suggests the issue is not so

much timing as whether the convictions result from the same

underlying case.

       ¶79    The prior-construction canon resolves this case.                                  In

Wittrock and Hopkins, this court authoritatively construed the

phrase "separate occasions."                     In Wittrock, this court held that

two convictions adjudicated in the same case constitute separate

occasions.          119 Wis. 2d at 666.                    Similarly, in Hopkins, this

court    held       convictions           for    two        crimes   committed        in    close

temporal          proximity     constitute             separate        occasions:             "The
'occasion'         referred     to     in       the    statute       is    the    occasion      of

conviction for each of the three crimes.                                  Thus, all that is

required by the statute is that a defendant be convicted of

three misdemeanors within the five-year period."                                168 Wis. 2d at

805.     Shortly after Hopkins, the legislature used the phrase

"separate         occasions"         in       another        statute       governing        repeat

offenders:          the   repeat          sex    offender       statute.         Applying      the

prior-construction            canon,          each    of    Rector's      five    sex      offense

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convictions          constitutes     a     separate     occasion,      even        though

Rector's pleas were accepted during the same court proceeding.

       ¶80    Contrary to Rector's argument, the prior-construction

canon is relevant to plain meaning but the majority degrades its

utility.       See Majority op., ¶20 (declaring "the meaning of the

statute is clear from its text" and only after that declaration

considering the State's prior-construction argument); see also

id.,    ¶9    ("[W]e     first    discern . . . [the         repeat    sex     offender

statute's] plain meaning based on the language and context of

the      statute.            We     next     address     this        court's       prior

decisions . . . and explain why those decisions do not dictate

our interpretation . . . in this case.").

       ¶81    Although the majority admits "[p]rior interpretation

by this court may be helpful in a plain meaning analysis," its

analysis eschews the canon altogether.                      See id., ¶25 (citing

Kalal,       271     Wis. 2d 633,    ¶¶45–46).         For    example,       it    holds

Wittrock is "irrelevant" because, in the majority's view, the

repeat       sex     offender     statute     is   "unambiguous[],"          but    that
reasoning          incorrectly    presumes       the   prior-construction           canon

applies only to resolve an ambiguity.                   Id., ¶26.       The majority

says the canon is at odds with "our oft-quoted principle that

'statutory language is given its common, ordinary, and accepted

meaning[.]'"          Id., ¶40 (quoting Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶45).

By    truncating       the   principle      espoused   in    Kalal,    the     majority

misrepresents         that   case,    which      actually    reads:       "Statutory

language is given its common, ordinary, and accepted meaning,
except that technical or specially-defined words or phrases are

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given their technical or special definitional meaning."                                      Kalal,

271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶45 (citations omitted).

      ¶82     In    other       cases,     some      members       of    the    majority       have

demeaned      the     canons          of   construction          as      mere     tools      in    a

"toolbox"——"extrinsic                 source[s],"         the    utility        of    which        is

limited to "clearing up confusing or ambiguous text."                                        James,

397 Wis. 2d 517, ¶23 n.12 (quoting the dissent).                                     Previously,

this court unequivocally rejected this view.                               Id. (noting some

justices'          disparagement             of        the         canons         exposes           a

"[f]undemental[] . . . misunderstand[ing                         of]     how     to    interpret

legal    texts").           The       denigration         of    traditional          canons       for

interpreting legal texts infects the majority opinion.

      ¶83     Like many other canons, prior construction is a source

of   plain     meaning,         having      been      applied       by    "the       best      legal

thinkers . . . for centuries."                    Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at

xxix.       Common        law    jurisdictions            throughout       the       world     have

applied the prior-construction canon for a long time.                                           See,

e.g.,    Campbell,          5     Ch.      App.      at     706.          Its     conventional
application, over a long period, makes it an intrinsic source.

"Neither written words nor the sounds that the written words

represent have any inherent meaning.                       Nothing but convention and

contexts cause a symbol or sound to convey a particular idea."

Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at xxvii.                            The prior-construction

canon    is    part       of    "a      generally         agreed-on       approach        to      the

interpretation of legal texts."                      Id.        It and other canons are

"helpful, neutral guides," "grounded in experience developed by
reason   and       tend    to     a    better     administration           of    justice        than

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leaving interpretation in each case to feelings of policy on the

part of the tribunal[.]"          Id. at 61 (quoting 3 Roscoe Pound,

Jurisprudence 506 (1959)).          The majority's "marginalization" of

this well-established canon "flies in the face of centuries of

jurisprudence" and is "far outside of the judicial mainstream."

See James, 397 Wis. 2d 517, ¶23 n.12.

      ¶84    The majority also demonstrates a misunderstanding of

the prior-construction canon by adopting Rector's attack on the

reasoning of Wittrock and Hopkins.             See, e.g., majority op., ¶22

("[W]ith     little   analysis    of    the    surrounding      words   of   the

statute, the court held that the term is ambiguous[.]"); id.,

¶25   n.7    (explaining    the   majority      intends    to    "point[]    out

inconsistencies in the Wittrock and Hopkins decisions").                     Even

assuming    the   cases    were   wrongly      decided,   they    changed     the

background against which the repeat sex offender statute was

enacted.     The legislature presumptively relied on these cases, a

point reasonable people expect to inform legal meaning.                      The

legislature is not required to predict which of this court's
cases may someday be overturned.

      ¶85    The majority stops short of overturning Wittrock and

Hopkins despite insinuating they were wrongly decided, creating

inconsistency in the law——a prime reason to discard a decision.

See State v. Roberson, 2019 WI 102, ¶50, 389 Wis. 2d 190, 935

N.W.2d 813    (explaining    this      court   can   overturn    precedent    if

"there is a showing that the precedent has become detrimental to

coherence and consistency in the law" (quoting Bartholomew v.
Wis. Patients Comp. Fund & Compcare Health Servs. Ins., 2006 WI

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91, ¶33, 293 Wis. 2d 38, 717 N.W.2d 216)).                               The majority offers

no     principled        reason——none——to             justify       why         the    number       of

occasions is calculated differently in two statutes using the

same phrase in analogous contexts.                            The majority claims the

repeat offender statute is "unique," but the majority's mere

declaration        does     not     make    it    so.         See    Majority          op.,     ¶25.

Limiting cases to their facts without justification is not legal

reasoning.

       ¶86       The majority claims "any inconsistency or confusion"

stemming from its holding "is outweighed by the clear and plain

meaning" of the repeat sex offender statute.                              Id., ¶39; see also

id.,    ¶30       ("In     summary,        the    portions          of     Wittrock——and            by

extension, Hopkins——that are inconsistent with our analysis are

all based on considerations that are irrelevant or inapplicable

in     the       current     context.").               This        reasoning          erroneously

presupposes        that     prior       construction          is    irrelevant          to    plain

meaning.         Applying the canon would preserve plain meaning and

prevent      a    wholly     unnecessary          inconsistency.                 See    Scalia       &
Garner,      Reading       Law,    at     324.        The    canon       recognizes          that    a

precedential construction imbues a phrase with meaning it might

otherwise not have.                By disregarding the canon, the majority

fosters      incoherence          and   complexity          while    spawning          confusion.

See Barrass v. Aberdeen Steam Trawling & Fishing Co., [1933]

A.C. 402, 412 (Eng.) (explaining the prior-construction canon is

"a   salutary       rule    and     one    necessary         to     confer       upon    Acts       of

Parliament that certainty which, though it is often lacking, is
always to be desired").

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      ¶87    Notwithstanding the conflict created by its decision

in this case, the majority declines to overturn Wittrock and

Hopkins because the meaning of the phrase "separate occasions"

in   the    repeat    offender          statute      "appears       to     be     settled[.]"

Majority op., ¶25.               The majority presumes the legislature has

"possibl[y]" "acquiesce[d]" to the Wittrock-Hopkins construction

because the legislature has made changes to the repeat offender

statute since those cases were decided "and did not make any

changes to the 'separate occasions' language[.]"                                 Id., ¶25 n.7

(citing     Estate        of    Miller    v.    Storey,       2017       WI 99,        ¶51,   378

Wis. 2d 358, 903 N.W.2d 759).                  The majority then holds that just

because     the    meaning        "appears      to    be   settled         [in    the     repeat

offender statute], it does not follow that such operation is

necessarily        transposed          onto    the . . . [repeat            sex        offender]

statute."        Id., ¶25.        Whatever illegitimate theory the majority

invokes to support its creation of legal inconsistency cannot

justify     its    decision        to    mutate      fixed    meaning        in    a     closely

related statute.
      ¶88    The irony of upholding Wittrock and Hopkins based on

legislative        acquiescence          is    totally       lost    on     the        majority.

According to the majority, the fixed meaning of a statute can

change      if     this        court    misconstrues         the     statute           and    the

legislature, over some undefined period, does not amend the text

to correct the error.              Although the conventional application of

the misguided doctrine would conclude legislative acquiescence

confirms     the    holdings       of    Wittrock      and    Hopkins,           the    majority
disagrees with the analysis in each case.                       The majority does not

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explain how the fixed meaning of a statute can change based on

its    text   remaining       unchanged.           See   Estate     of    Miller,    378

Wis. 2d 358,         ¶99   (Kelly,         J.,    concurring/dissenting).            The

Wisconsin Constitution sets forth procedures for changing the

law.    Absent from them is any manner by which a law can be, in

effect,       amended        through       legislative      inaction.             Unlike

legislative acquiescence, prior construction is premised on an

event prior to a law's enactment imbuing a phrase used in the

law with meaning.             Legislative acquiescence is premised on a

non-event——the        mere    passage       of    time——changing     a    law's    fixed

meaning.

       ¶89    The     majority       professes         inaction     can     imbue     a

misconstrued statute with a new meaning.                     If the majority is

correct, surely this court's construction of a phrase could also

imbue meaning into that phrase when it is later used in a new

statute.      In fact, to conclude that when the legislature does

not    act,    it     is   making      a    reasoned     decision    to    endorse     a

particular construction is much more suspect than to suppose the
legislature considers the definitive construction of a phrase by

the state's highest court when it uses that phrase in a new

statute.            See    id.,   ¶97       ("[A]ttributing       significance        to

legislative inaction depends on an overweening, court-centric

view of our relationship to the other branches of government.

If this interpretive device is to function, it requires a belief

that the legislature carefully attends to everything we say,

rigorously compares our pronouncements to its own understanding
of the statutory corpus, compiles a list of disagreements, and

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privileges     corrective      measures          over       everything      else     on    its

crowded    legislative       calendar.").               A    legislative         drafter    is

obviously     interested      in   the      legislation            being    construed       in

accordance with the drafter's expectations, and for that reason,

drafters     often    consider     how    phrases           have    been    construed       by

courts.      See Wisconsin Bill Drafting Manual § 2.03(2)(a) (2023–

24) (advising drafters at the Legislative Reference Bureau to

consider whether a word or phrase is defined "in case law").

     ¶90     Rector's      argument      that     the       statutes       are    materially

different, which the majority adopts, is patently wrong.                              As the

majority notes, both the repeat sex offender statute and the

repeat     offender     statute       "may       be     relied       upon        during    the

sentencing of a criminal defendant"——and specifically, a repeat

offender.      See Majority op., ¶39.                   Contradicting itself, the

majority declares the only similarity between the statutes lies

in   their     use    of    the    same      language.              Id.,     ¶36     ("[T]he

legislature's limited use of general terms is hardly enough on

its own to make the statutes closely related.").                                  While the
majority insists these statutes are sufficiently dissimilar to

reject the prior-construction canon, its description of these

alleged differences is particularly opaque.

     ¶91     "[W]hen a statute uses the very same terminology as an

earlier    statute——especially         in    the        very   same       field,    such    as

securities law or civil—rights law——it is reasonable to believe

that the terminology bears a consistent meaning."                                  Scalia &

Garner, Reading Law, at 323.              "One might even say that the body
of law of which a statute forms a part——especially if that body

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has been codified——is part of the statute's context."                                   Id.; see

also Strenke v. Hogner, 2005 WI 25, ¶28, 279 Wis. 2d 52, 694

N.W.2d 296      ("A    statute       must     be    interpreted        in       light    of   the

common law and the scheme of jurisprudence existing at the time

of its enactment."             (citing State v. Hansen, 2001 WI 53, ¶19,

243 Wis. 2d 328, 627 N.W.2d 195)).                     Notably, the United States

Supreme   Court       rejected        the     trivial-differences               approach       the

majority employs.           See United States v. Davis, 588 U.S. __, 139

S. Ct. 2319,      2329        (2019)     (citing        Sullivan       v.        Stroop,      496

U.S. 478, 484 (1990)).

    ¶92    The repeat sex offender statute uses the "very same

terminology"——"separate               occasions"——as           the     repeat           offender

statute   and    both       statutes        deal    with     similar       subject       matter.

Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at 323.                         That one states "2 or

more separate occasions" and the other "3 separate occasions" is

irrelevant.           See    State     v.     Anderson,       2014     WI 93,          ¶41,    375

Wis. 2d 337, 851 N.W.2d 760 (Abrahamson, C.J., dissenting) ("I

start with the statutes, the one governing . . . [not guilty by
reason    of     insanity]        and       the      other     governing          involuntary

intoxication.           The     two     are        closely    related.             They       have

distinctive features but also share certain legal similarities;

violation of each might be proven by similar facts.").                                   In one

treatise on statutory construction, examples of similar subject

matters    are        discussed        at     a      high     level        of     generality:

"securities      law    or     civil—rights          law[.]"          Scalia       &     Garner,

Reading Law, at 323.            The two statutes in this case are part of
the same body of law.            The purpose of both is self-evidently to

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protect     the       public      from      repeat       offenders     and       both    impact

sentencing.

      ¶93      The majority contradicts its own reasoning that the

statutes are different by holding the similarity in language

between the statutes is immaterial because "separate occasions"

was not a legal term of art at the time it was construed in

Wittrock.       See Majority op., ¶31.                   The question, though, is not

whether "separate occasions" had or has an accepted meaning in

common parlance but whether this court's precedent changes that

otherwise       accepted        meaning       in     a    particular        context.         It

obviously does.

      ¶94      The    phrase       "separate        occasions"       is    not     especially

common    in    the     Wisconsin        statutes.          Statutes       can     be    closely

related based on "similar" phraseology and subject matter, and

the   justification          for      applying      the    canon     seems       particularly

strong when the phrase at issue seldom appears in the Wisconsin

statutes.       Compare State v. Reyes Fuerte, 2017 WI 104, ¶27, 378

Wis. 2d 504, 904 N.W.2d 773 ("Statutes are closely related when
they are in the same chapter, reference one another, or use

similar terms.          Being within the same statutory scheme may also

make two statutes closely related."                        (citation omitted)), with

majority       op.,    ¶35     ("It    is    undeniable       that    the     two       statutes

reside in different chapters governing different subject matter.

There are no cross references between . . . [the two statutes],

and   the      statutes      do    not      rely     on    each    other      or    otherwise

interact.").

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    ¶95     Aside     from   the   repeat   sex     offender       statute,      its

companion, Wis. Stat. § 301.46(2m)(am), and the repeat offender

statute, the phrase appears in only three other statutes, one of

which imposes a penalty enhancer for certain repeat domestic

abusers.      See     Wis.   Stat.    § 939.621(1)(b)        (defining      as    a

"domestic abuse repeater" any "person who, during the 10-year

period immediately prior to the commission of the crime for

which the person is presently being sentenced if the convictions

remain of record and unreversed, was convicted on 2 or more

separate occasions of a felony or a misdemeanor for which a

court imposed a domestic abuse surcharge under s. 973.055 (1), a

felony or a misdemeanor for which a court waived a domestic

abuse surcharge pursuant to s. 973.055 (4), or a felony or a

misdemeanor that was committed in another state but that, had it

been committed in this state, would have subjected the person to

a domestic abuse surcharge under s. 973.055 (1) or that is a

crime of domestic abuse under the laws of that state" (emphasis

added));    Wis.    Stat.    § 939.22(21)   (defining        a    "[p]attern      of
criminal gang activity" in the Wisconsin Criminal Code); Wis.

Stat. § 174.02(3)(a)1. (defining the circumstances under which a

court may order a dog killed).         In the six statutes in which the

phrase    "separate    occasions"    appears,     four   protect      the   public

from repeat offenders.          The majority, therefore, is wrong to

suggest    "separate     occasions"    is   a     "general       term[.]"        See

Majority op., ¶36 ("[T]he legislature's limited use of general

terms is hardly enough on its own to make the statutes closely
related.").

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     ¶96    Application of the prior-construction canon is also

consistent      with    a     textually-expressed            purpose     of    the     sex-

offender registry, which the majority disregards:                              Protecting

the public, and particularly children.                   See Wis. Stat. § 301.001

("The    purposes      of    this    chapter     and    chs.   302     to    304    are    to

prevent delinquency and crime by an attack on their causes; to

provide a just, humane and efficient program of rehabilitation

of   offenders;        and    to     coordinate        and   integrate        corrections

programs with other social services.                   In creating the department

of corrections, chs. 301 to 304, the legislature intends that

the state continue to avoid sole reliance on incarceration of

offenders       and    continue       to   develop,          support     and       maintain

professional community programs and placements.").                             Textually-

expressed purpose is a legitimate indication of plain meaning.

See Scalia & Garner, Reading Law, at 217.

     ¶97    The 2017 Attorney General opinion examined the purpose

of the sex-offender registry, and specifically, of Wis. Stat.

§ 301.46.       The Attorney General noted § 301.46 "reflects the
Legislature's concern with offenders' potential danger to the

public.     The number of convictions, not court proceedings, best

measures that risk."                OAG-02-17, ¶14; see also Kaminski, 245

Wis. 2d 310, ¶41 (explaining the purpose of the act creating the

repeat    sex    offender      statute     was    "to    protect       the    public      and

assist law enforcement" and "related to community protection"

(quoting State v. Bollig, 2000 WI 6, ¶¶21–22, 232 Wis. 2d 561,

605 N.W.2d 199)).            A person convicted of multiple sex offenses
is no less dangerous than he would otherwise be solely because

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the convictions occurred in the same case.                    See OAG-02-17, ¶15.

Perhaps a person who is convicted of a sex offense and later

commits a second sex offense is more dangerous than someone

convicted of two sex offenses in one case because the person

clearly did not use the first conviction as an opportunity for

rehabilitation.           The majority does not, however, require the

commission     of     an    offense   to     take     place     after    the    first

conviction.         The    majority   does   not    hold      that   a   person      who

commits      crimes    after    already      having    been      convicted      is     a

repeater.      Instead, the majority holds that a person convicted

at two different times and in two different proceedings is a

repeater, while a person convicted of multiple offenses close in

time during one proceeding is not.             That holding is not required

by the text of the statute and is divorced from the statutory

purpose.

       ¶98   The majority does not reconcile its dangerous holding

with   the    dangerous     problem   the    legislature       addressed       in    the

repeat sex offender statute.          As the State notes:

       [S]uppose . . . [a   person    other    than   Rector]
       downloaded child pornography to his home computer in
       County X and later that same day to his cellphone
       while in County Y. Under this scenario, the State may
       charge this other person in two counties that may
       result in convictions in different courts on different
       days.
According to the State, "[i]t is absurd that the two defendants

face such differing periods of sex offender registration and

reporting."      Although the State misunderstands the extraordinary

                                        29
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facts necessary to deem a result legally absurd,9 the logical

implications of Rector's interpretation should give the majority

pause in light of the sex-offender registry's purpose.                              Rector

is no less dangerous than the hypothetical sex offender in the

State's scenario, yet the majority's holding places him on the

registry for a much             shorter period.            The majority's holding

invites strategic pleading by the State; the majority would have

required Rector to register as a sex offender for life had the

prosecutor      simply      brought      one    count      in     one    case    and    the

remaining counts in another, with the cases being adjudicated on

different    days.          The       majority's       holding      creates      peculiar

distinctions between similarly situated defendants.

    ¶99     Rector possessed vile, evil imagery of children being

sexually abused; having his crimes adjudicated in a single case

does not mitigate the danger he poses.                    Even assuming Rector and

others   like    him     have     a    "low"    risk      of    reoffending——a         point

emphasized in an amicus brief by the State Public Defender——

three    justices      of     this      court      have        previously       explained:
"[P]arents of young children should ask themselves whether they

should worry that there are people in their community who have

'only' a 16 percent or an 8 percent probability of molesting

young children——bearing in mind the lifelong psychological scars

that such molestation frequently inflicts."10                            State v. C.G.,

    9  See generally Secura Supreme Ins. v. Estate of Huck, 2023
WI 21, 406 Wis. 2d 297, 986 N.W.2d 810 (Rebecca Grassl Bradley,
J., dissenting) (discussing the legal principle of absurdity).
    10 The study cited in the amicus brief found six percent of
sex offenders reoffended by committing another sex offense over
a 15-year period.   Joseph R. Tatar II & Anthony Streveler, Sex
                               30
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2022 WI 60, ¶42, 403 Wis. 2d 229, 976 N.W.2d 318 (lead op.)

(quoting Belleau v. Wall, 811 F.3d 929, 933–34 (7th Cir. 2016)).

The majority impermissibly erases the statutory purpose of the

sex-offender     registry    by    constructing        a    rule       removing   Rector

from   the   registry   earlier     than    the    law       requires,      apparently

because the prosecutor used an efficient method to prosecute the

multiple     crimes   Rector      committed.       The       majority's        decision

thereby endangers some of the most vulnerable members of the

public.

       ¶100 In   contrast,     application        of       the   prior-construction

canon would give effect to the statutory purpose of the sex-

offender registry while remaining consistent with this court's

post-enactment precedent.          In 2001, this court unanimously cited

Wis. Stat. § 301.46(2m) as requiring "DOC . . . to provide the

police chief or sheriff with bulletins regarding any registrant

who is about to be released from confinement if the registrant

has been convicted of two or more sex offenses, or has been

committed under Wis. Stat. Ch. 980."              Kaminski, 245 Wis. 2d 310,
¶33 n.8.     This court equated convictions on "2 or more separate

Offender Recidivism After Release from Prison 5 (2015),
https://doc.wi.gov/DataResearch/RecidivismReincarceration/Sexual
OffenderRecidivismReport.pdf.   The study utilized DOC's rather
narrow definition of "sexual recidivism": "Following an episode
of incarceration with the WI DOC, to commit a sex offense that
results in a new conviction and sentence to WI DOC custody or
supervision." Id. at 4. This definition is problematic because
many sex offenses do not result in a conviction.     See State v.
Johnson, 2023 WI 39, ¶79, __ Wis. 2d __, __ N.W.2d __ (Karofsky,
J., concurring) ("[A]ccording to data from the U.S. Department
of Justice, as much as 86 percent of child sexual abuse may go
unreported altogether."    (citing Dean G. Kilpatrick et al.,
Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications 6 (2003))).

                                       31
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occasions" with convictions for "two or more sex offenses[.]"

Id.        The     majority     silently       withdraws         this        language     from

Kaminski, destabilizing yet another precedent.                               See Friends of

Frame      Park,    U.A.   v.   City    of    Waukesha,      2022        WI 57,    ¶68,    403

Wis. 2d 1,         976     N.W.2d 263        (Rebecca        Grassl          Bradley,      J.,

concurring) ("After the plain text of a statute, precedent is

the most significant, the most ubiquitous, and the most powerful

of the traditional tools of statutory construction."                                (quoting

Michael Sinclair, Traditional Tools of Statutory Interpretation

13 (1942))).         The majority's holding cannot be reconciled with

Kaminski.

      ¶101 Extrinsic sources, referenced by the State, confirm

the propriety of applying the prior-construction canon.11                                  The

majority      degrades        them,     even        though   it         rationalizes      its

rejection of the canon because the repeat sex offender statute

ostensibly         carries      an    "entirely        different . . . legislative

history[.]"          Majority        op.,    ¶27.      In    a    literal       sense,     all

statutes have a different history, but the reasonable inferences
that can be drawn from the legislative history of the repeat sex

offender statute are analogous to those drawn by this court in

Wittrock      and     Hopkins        with    regard     to       the     repeat     offender

statute's history.

       The majority insinuates this opinion elevates extrinsic
      11

sources above the letter of the law, but extrinsic sources
simply confirm the plain-meaning analysis and their use for this
purpose is well established in our jurisprudence.         Contra
majority op., ¶27 n.9.

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      ¶102 Three sources of legislative history are relevant.                                A

DOC report in the drafting file for the repeat sex offender

statute recommended "lifetime registration requirements for any

person convicted, or found not guilty [by reason] of mental

disease or defect, of two (2) or more sexual offenses——repeat

sex   offenders."12        DOC,       Sex    Offender       Community      Notification:

Proposed   Program      Components           6    (1994);    see     also      id.     at    ii

(recommending     extending       "registration            requirements         for    repeat

sex   offenders    (2    or     more    separate          convictions)         for    life").

Notably,   the    report       uses    the       phrase    "repeat       sex   offenders,"

while the word "repeater" is used throughout the repeat offender

statute.    E.g.,       Wis.    Stat.       § 939.62(1)       ("If   the       actor    is   a

repeater . . . .").           The report, which was created before the

       The majority declares this report "is not a reliable
      12

indicator of legislative intent.    Legislators are not bound to
follow, or even consider, a DOC report when drafting or enacting
a statute."    Id., ¶28.    We do not attempt to discern the
mythical legislative "intent" underlying a statute but instead
declare its meaning, which legislative history may be used to
confirm. The majority deems the law review article discussed in
Wittrock a reliable historical source but it was published after
the enactment of the relevant language in the repeat offender
statute.   Obviously, it was not read by any legislators who
voted on the matter. See id., ¶27 (proclaiming this law review
article a better source of legislative history).

     The majority displays a lack of familiarity with this
court's binding precedent referencing this DOC report.     E.g.,
State ex rel. Kaminski v. Schwarz, 2001 WI 94, ¶¶53–55, 245
Wis. 2d 310, 630 N.W.2d 164 (citing and quoting DOC, Sex
Offender Community Notification:     Proposed Program Components
(1994)); State v. C.G., 2022 WI 60, ¶29, 403 Wis. 2d 229, 976
N.W.2d 318 (quoting State v. Bollig, 2000 WI 6, ¶¶22, 25, 232
Wis. 2d 561, 605 N.W.2d 199 (citing DOC, Sex Offender Community
Notification, i, 1–2)).      The majority creates yet another
inconsistency in the law, calling into question multiple
decisions regarding the sex-offender registry.

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text   of    the    bill     was    drafted,      is    not   the        only    source      of

legislative history to confirm the State's construction.                                A DOC

fiscal estimate (prepared after the bill's drafting) similarly

noted the legislation would "expand[] registration time frames"

for    "individuals        with    two     or    more   separate         sexual        assault

convictions[.]"        DOC, Fiscal Estimate – 1995 Session for 1995

Wis. S.B. 182 (May 25, 1995).                   After enactment, an information

memorandum prepared by the Legislative Council, in discussing

the companion statute, noted:

       Act 440 requires DOC . . . to send a bulletin to local
       law enforcement officials if the agency is going to
       place or release into the community a person who:
       (a) is   subject    to    sex   offender   registration
       requirements;   and   (b)   has  committed  crimes   or
       violations covered by the registration statute on two
       or more occasions.
Wis. Legis. Council Staff, Information Memorandum 96-18 3 (July

12, 1996).         The focus of the report, the estimate, and the

memorandum is on the number of convictions, without regard to

when   the    judgment       of    conviction       was    entered.             This    focus

supports     the    application       of    the    canon,     and        nothing       in   the
legislative        history        indicates      members      of     the        legislature

understood the phrase "separate occasions" to have a different

meaning than it was construed to have in Wittrock and Hopkins.

See Wis. Legislature v. Palm, 2020 WI 42, ¶26, 391 Wis. 2d 497,

942    N.W.2d 900      ("[T]he        Legislative         Reference        Bureau       never

described the added language as changing . . . [the agency's]

authority.").

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  B.     The Majority Establishes a Rudderless Rule of "I Know It
                            When I See It."
       ¶103 The majority holds that "when a person is convicted

based on charges filed in a single case during the same hearing,

then     those    convictions         have            not     occurred        on       'separate

occasions.'"       Majority op., ¶19.                  It explicitly "leave[s] for

another    day    whether . . . convictions                   that     only       meet    one    of

those two conditions," i.e., convictions occurring in either "a

single    case"    or   at    "the    same           hearing"    but     not      both,        "have

occurred on separate occasions."                      Id., ¶19 n.5.           The majority's

holding    resolves     the    issue       in        this    case,     but    its      reasoning

leaves future cases in flux and subject to the court's whim

rather than its judgment.

       ¶104 The majority first focuses on temporal proximity in

determining      whether     occasions          are        separate:         "a   person        must

comply with registration requirements for life if the event of

conviction occurred at two or more separate (set apart) times."

Id., ¶13.      Leaving "set apart" without any definition, however,

the majority proclaims "[c]onvictions that are filed in a single

case     and     pronounced      within              the     same      hearing         are       not

significantly      'set      apart'        or    'disunited,'           and       so     are    not

'separate occasions.'"          Id., ¶17.             The majority then pivots to a

different test for whether occasions are separate, which is not

so much grounded in timing as whether the convictions stem from

"the same case filing."              Id.        The majority never resolves this

contradiction.

       ¶105 What if a case involves two sex offenses and the first
plea is accepted before a lunch break and the second after?                                     Are

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those convictions "united by . . . temporal proximity"?                                 See id.

Could a prosecutor bring separate cases but have the guilty

pleas     entered    within       a    few     minutes           of   one      another?        The

majority's reasoning lacks clarity, leaving the impression of a

"rule" grounded in nothing more than "I know it when I see it."

See Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964) (Stewart, J.,

concurring) ("I have reached the conclusion . . . that under the

First and Fourteenth Amendments criminal laws in this area are

constitutionally limited to hard-core pornography.                                  I shall not

today     attempt    further          to    define        the     kinds        of   material    I

understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and

perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so.                                   But I

know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this

case is not that.").13

     ¶106 The       vagueness         in    the     majority's        reasoning        could    be

easily    avoided    with     a    clear       holding       grounded          in    traditional

legal reasoning.       Instead, the majority says, in effect, "I know

these weren't separate occasions.                         Maybe in some future case
I'll tell you what a separate occasion actually is."

                                      IV.    CONCLUSION

     ¶107 The majority errs in rejecting the prior-construction

canon's     application       in       favor        of    muddling        the       well-settled

meaning    of   "separate     occasions,"                which    this      court     decisively

     13Similarly unclear is the majority's wedding analogy. See
majority op., ¶16.    Of course a wedding could be an occasion,
and obviously a wedding may have discrete events, e.g., a
marriage ceremony and a reception.     That various things can
happen during a      single occasion does not dictate what
constitutes a particular occasion.

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construed nearly 40 years ago to mean "separate convictions" not

"separate proceedings."          The legislature relied on this meaning

when it later used the phrase in a closely related statute.                     The

majority     repudiates    the   fixed    meaning     of   the    phrase   at   the

expense of the textually-expressed purpose of the statute, and

in derogation of this court's precedent.               Effectively rewriting

the    repeat   sex     offender    statute,    the    majority      trivializes

heinous crimes against children, and its decision endangers some

of    the   community's   most     vulnerable   members.         I   respectfully

concur in part and dissent in part.

       ¶108 I am authorized to state that Chief Justice ANNETTE

KINGSLAND     ZIEGLER    and   Justice    PATIENCE    DRAKE      ROGGENSACK     join

this opinion.

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