Lepley v. State

280 N.W.2d 124, 90 Wis. 2d 369, 1979 Wisc. LEXIS 2088
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 29, 1979
DocketNo. 77-091-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 280 N.W.2d 124 (Lepley v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lepley v. State, 280 N.W.2d 124, 90 Wis. 2d 369, 1979 Wisc. LEXIS 2088 (Wis. 1979).

Opinion

HEFFERNAN, J.

The basic question on this appeal is whether the inquiry made by the court which ac[371]*371cepted Leonard Lepley’s plea of guilty to first degree murder in 1946 was sufficient to determine the defendant’s competency. An additional question, only peripherally posed by the defendant but which we believe should be resolved, is whether sufficient facts were elicited at the inquiry made in 1946 to show that Lepley was competent to proceed. We conclude that a sufficient inquiry was conducted and that it demonstrated Lepley’s competence to stand trial. We affirm.

On his plea of guilty, the defendant, Leonard Lepley, was found guilty of first degree murder. When the plea was entered on October 21, 1946, Lepley was sixteen years old. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at Waupun State Prison. The record shows that Lepley was paroled in 1958. That parole was later revoked and he is now in the Waupun State Prison, where he continues to serve the sentence imposed in 1946.

In 1976, pursuant to the provisions of sec. 974.06, Stats., Lepley filed a motion for postconviction relief. He claims that he was unconstitutionally convicted because the trial judge in 1946, after being made aware of the defendant’s questionable mental condition, failed to conduct an appropriate inquiry to determine Lepley’s competence. The sec. 974.06 motion was heard by the circuit court for Ashland county. The motion to withdraw the guilty plea and for a new trial was denied, because the circuit court concluded that the trial court in the 1946 proceedings complied with the applicable statute and with the case law which then governed the determination of competency.

The entire transcript of the 1946 proceedings was before the circuit court on the postconviction motion and is before us on appeal. The basic facts on which Lepley was found guilty of first degree murder were that he, in the company of his brother, lay in wait for a neighbor, Elmer Stettler, and when Stettler emerged from his home, Lepley shot him with a 30-30 rifle. [372]*372Lepley was promptly arrested and charged with first degree murder.

In accordance with the requirements of Wisconsin law, which antedated Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), by more than one hundred years, counsel was appointed at state expense. See, Carpenter v. Dane County, 9 Wis. 249 (*274) (1859). The record shows that Lepley’s counsel had the opportunity of conferring with him on several occasions between the date of the appointment and the date of the guilty plea. From these conversations and from conversations with the district attorney, defense counsel learned that, from 1942 to 1944, Lepley had been an inmate at the Northern Wisconsin Colony, an institution for the mentally deficient. The record also shows defense counsel and the district attorney asked the superintendent of the Colony about Lepley’s confinement there. A letter from the superintendent of Northern Colony setting out the facts surrounding Lepley’s commitment was given to the judge by the district attorney prior to the day the guilty plea was entered.

The report recited that Lepley had been judicially committed to Northern Colony as mentally deficient, that he was in good physical condition, and that various psychometric tests given him while at the Colony showed he had an IQ of 74 on one occasion and 73 on another. The superintendent of the institution stated that Lepley had “made good progress in academic work as well as in weaving and manual training.”

Defense counsel, although stating that his concern about the defendant’s low intelligence compelled him to bring it to the attention of the court, nevertheless felt “that he has sufficient mentality to legally determine the distinction between right and wrong.”

Lepley, with counsel present, was asked whether he wished to plead guilty or not guilty. Lepley responded, [373]*373“Yes sir, guilty.” Defense counsel was then asked whether he had advised Lepley to plead guilty and, after some intervening discussion relating to the defendant’s past mental history, stated, “I have advised him to plead guilty; he says he wants to plead guilty . . . .”

At that point the district attorney was asked to state the circumstances of the crime. He stated that, the evening before the killing, Lepley and his young brother attempted to break into Elmer Stettler’s root cellar. Stettler saw them on the property and told them to stay away. The next day Lepley and his brother went to the Stettler place, with Lepley carrying a loaded 30-30 rifle. The district attorney stated that the defendant told him that “he was going to get Stettler.” The two boys waited from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for Stettler to come out of his home. When Stettler came out to work in the yard, Lepley stepped out with a rifle. He and Stettler exchanged words, and then Lepley shot Stettler. Mrs. Stettler, the widow of the victim, who witnessed the shooting, also testified and confirmed the district attorney’s statement.

Following the district attorney’s statement, the court asked the defendant Lepley, “Is that substantially what took place Leonard, or do you want to add to it or change it?” Lepley answered, “No, that is okay, sir.” ,The judge’s questioning of Lepley elicited the fact that, the night before the killing, Lepley decided that he would kill Stettler and that he loaded the rifle the night before. He stated that he knew that upon conviction he could go to prison.

The judge also asked Lepley about his education, where he went to school, when he went to school, and specifically asked about his experience at Northern Colony. Lepley stated, in response to the judge’s questioning, that after killing Stettler he shot at other members of [374]*374the Stettler family who were outside the house, to prevent them from returning to the house to get a gun.

Were there not evidence in the record to show that Lepley had previously been adjudicated mentally deficient, there is nothing in the transcript at the time of the plea of guilty to suggest that Lepley was mentally incompetent. His answers to the judge’s questions were for the most part responsive and demonstrated a comprehension of the reality of the situation in which he was placed at the time. He evidenced a full recall of important factors relevant to the charges against him.

Following the extensive colloquy between the judge and the defendant, further statements by defense counsel and the district attorney, and questioning of a juvenile probation officer, the court adjudged the defendant guilty and committed him to the state prison. After the pronouncement of sentence, Lepley asked where the imprisonment would be served. He asked, “Will that be for .the rest of my days ?” and “There would not be any chance of getting a pardon ?”

The entire transcript of the proceedings demonstrates that on the date that the guilty plea was taken the defendant was aware of what was going on and his answers to questions were responsive and lucid.

Whether this proceeding was insufficient depends on whether there was compliance with the statutory requirements as they existed in 1946. The controlling statute is sec. 357.13, Stats. (1945) :

“357.13 Insanity at the time of trial or conviction.

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Dietz v. State
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Gideon v. Wainwright
372 U.S. 335 (Supreme Court, 1963)

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Bluebook (online)
280 N.W.2d 124, 90 Wis. 2d 369, 1979 Wisc. LEXIS 2088, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lepley-v-state-wis-1979.