Schilling v. State Crime Victims Rights Board

2005 WI 17, 692 N.W.2d 623, 278 Wis. 2d 216, 2005 Wisc. LEXIS 14
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 23, 2005
Docket03-1855
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 2005 WI 17 (Schilling v. State Crime Victims Rights Board) 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
Schilling v. State Crime Victims Rights Board, 2005 WI 17, 692 N.W.2d 623, 278 Wis. 2d 216, 2005 Wisc. LEXIS 14 (Wis. 2005).

Opinion

*220 PATIENCE DRAKE ROGGENSACK, J.

¶ 1. The first sentence of Article I, Section 9m of the Wisconsin Constitution states: "This state shall treat crime victims, as defined by law, with fairness, dignity and respect for their privacy." We recognize that according crime victims fairness, dignity and respect is very important to a just enforcement of the criminal code of the State of Wisconsin. The legislature has recognized the importance of victims' rights as well, by enacting Wis. Stat. § 950.04. However, because we conclude that this constitutional provision is a statement of purpose that describes the policies to be promoted by the State and does not provide an enforceable, self-executing right, we affirm the circuit court decision reversing the private reprimand of District Attorney Patrick Schilling issued by the Crime Victims Rights Board under Wis. Stat. § 950.09(2)(a) (1999-2000). 1

I. BACKGROUND

¶ 2. Jennifer Hansen Marinko (Hansen) was murdered in Price County in October 1999. She was survived by her two children, her mother and nine siblings. Patrick Schilling, District Attorney for Price County, prosecuted Daniel Marinko (Marinko) in connection with her death, and on March 8, 2001, Marinko was convicted of both first-degree intentional homicide and armed burglary with a dangerous weapon.

¶ 3. At the sentencing hearing held on April 12, 2001, Schilling played part of the tape of the 911 telephone call that Hansen's son had made to the police after discovering his mother dead. While Schilling made sure that Hansen's children would not be present at the *221 sentencing hearing, he did not inform other family members that he was going to play the tape or otherwise give them an opportunity to leave the courtroom before he played it. Schilling turned off the tape before it had finished playing because he recognized that it was having a dramatic effect on the family members.

¶ 4. In July 2001, five of Hansen's survivors (collectively "complainants") filed a complaint against Schilling with the Crime Victims Rights Board (Board). 2 After determining that there was probable cause to believe that Schilling had violated the complainants' crime victims' rights, the Board held an evidentiary hearing on May 30 and 31, 2002.

¶ 5. In a written decision, the Board found that the tape of the 911 call was "highly upsetting" and that "Schilling knew of the tape's powerful emotional content ... [which] was the reason for its presentation at the sentencing hearing." The Board further found that "Schilling intended to create an emotional event at the sentencing hearing for the purpose of influencing the sentencing decision, which, unfortunately, was at the expense of [Hansen's] family."

¶ 6. Citing Article I, Section 9m of the Wisconsin Constitution and Wis. Stat. § 950.01 for the principle that "[v]ictims of crime are entitled to be treated with fairness, dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity," the Board found that the complainants had "met their burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that [] Schilling failed to treat them with fairness, dignity, respect, courtesy and sensitivity on April 12, 2001, when he played the 911 tape made on the day of *222 [Hansen's] death at the sentencing hearing." Citing its authority under Wis. Stat. § 950.09(2)(a), the Board ordered a private reprimand of Schilling "for violating the complainants' rights to be treated with fairness, dignity, respect and sensitivity in the playing of the 911 tape at the April 12, 2001, sentencing hearing."

¶ 7. Schilling sought judicial review of the Board's decision pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 227.52, 227.53 and 227.57 in the circuit court for Dane County. The circuit court, the Honorable Michael N. Nowakowski presiding, reversed the Board's decision. The Board then appealed to the court of appeals, and we granted the court of appeals' certification.

II. DISCUSSION

¶ 8. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 950.09(2)(a), the Board may "[i]ssue private and public reprimands of public officials, employees or agencies that violate the rights of crime victims provided under this chapter, ch. 938, and article I, section 9m, of the Wisconsin constitution." At issue in this case is whether the first sentence of Article I, Section 9m of the Wisconsin Constitution, which reads, "This state shall treat crime victims, as defined by law, with fairness, dignity and respect for their privacy," creates a "right" that the Board may enforce under § 950.09(2)(a), or whether it is descriptive of policies to be furthered by the State.

¶ 9. The Board argues that the first sentence of Article I, Section 9m of the Wisconsin Constitution is self-executing and thereby provides crime victims an enforceable right to be treated with fairness, dignity and respect for their privacy. Schilling counters that the language in question instead serves to articulate general policies and does not create enforceable rights. We conclude that the constitutional language in question is *223 a statement of purpose that describes the policies to be promoted by the State and does not create an enforceable, self-executing right. 3

A. Standard of Review

¶ 10. This is an appeal following a decision by the Board, which is an administrative agency. We review the Board's decision, not the circuit court's. See Beecher v. LIRC, 2004 WI 88, ¶ 22, 273 Wis. 2d 136, 682 N.W.2d 29.

¶ 11. Both parties state that our review in the present case is de novo, relying on the court of appeals decision in Zip Sort, Inc. v. Wisconsin Dep't of Revenue, 2001 WI App 185, 247 Wis. 2d 295, 634 N.W.2d 99. While we agree that our review of the Board's decision is de novo, we disagree with the parties' reliance on Zip Sort.

¶ 12. The Zip Sort decision addressed the standard of review of an administrative agency's interpretation of a statute, explaining that there are three possible levels of deference in a review of an agency's statutory interpretation and describing the circumstances under which each level of deference is appropriate. Zip Sort, 247 Wis. 2d 295, ¶ 11-14. However, the instant case presents a question of constitutional, not statutory, construction. While the Board interpreted Article I, Section 9m of the Wisconsin Constitution pursuant to its duties conferred by Wis. Stat. § 950.09

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Bluebook (online)
2005 WI 17, 692 N.W.2d 623, 278 Wis. 2d 216, 2005 Wisc. LEXIS 14, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schilling-v-state-crime-victims-rights-board-wis-2005.