State v. Alexander M. Schultz

2020 WI 24
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 4, 2020
Docket2017AP001977-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

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Bluebook
State v. Alexander M. Schultz, 2020 WI 24 (Wis. 2020).

Opinion

2020 WI 24

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN CASE NO.: 2017AP1977-CR

COMPLETE TITLE: State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Alexander M. Schultz, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

REVIEW OF DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS Reported at 385 Wis. 2d 494,922 N.W.2d 866 PDC No:2019 WI App 3 - Published

OPINION FILED: March 4, 2020 SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT: September 9, 2019

SOURCE OF APPEAL: COURT: Circuit COUNTY: Lincoln JUDGE: Robert R. Russell

JUSTICES: REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., delivered the majority opinion of the Court, in which ROGGENSACK, C.J., ZIEGLER, and KELLY, JJ., joined. HAGEDORN, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which ANN WALSH BRADLEY, and DALLET, JJ., joined. NOT PARTICIPATING:

ATTORNEYS:

For the defendant-appellant-petitioner, there were briefs filed by Frederick A. Bechtold, Taylor Falls, Minnesota. There was an oral argument by Frederick A. Bechtold.

For the plaintiff-respondent, there was a brief filed by Scott E. Rosenow, assistant attorney general; with whom on the brief was Joshua L. Kaul, attorney general. There was an oral argument by Scott E. Rosenow. 2020 WI 24

NOTICE This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports. No. 2017AP1977-CR (L.C. No. 2014CF68)

STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT

State of Wisconsin,

Plaintiff-Respondent, FILED v. Mar 4, 2020

Alexander M. Schultz, Sheila T. Reiff Clerk of Supreme Court

Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

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

REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Affirmed.

¶1 REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J. The State charged Alexander

M. Schultz with repeated sexual assault of a child for engaging in

sexual intercourse with the fifteen-year-old victim, M.T.,1 in

"late summer to early fall of 2012." A jury acquitted him of this

charge. Shortly thereafter, paternity test results revealed

Schultz to be the father of M.T.'s child. The State then charged

Schultz with sexual assault of a child under 16 years of age

1For privacy purposes, we do not refer to the victim in this case by name. See Wis. Stat. § 809.86 (2017-18). No. 2017AP1977-CR

occurring "on or about October 19, 2012," the date M.T.'s

obstetrician determined the child was conceived. We review whether

the State exposed Schultz to multiple prosecutions for the same

offense in violation of the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United

States and Wisconsin Constitutions. Schultz asks us to consider

whether a court may ascertain the scope of jeopardy in the first

prosecution based upon trial testimony, as well as to determine

who bears the burden resulting from any ambiguity in the timeframe

of a charging document——the defendant or the State.2

¶2 We hold that a court may examine the entire record of

the first proceeding, including the evidence admitted at trial,

when determining the scope of jeopardy in a prior criminal

prosecution. Because the complaint incorporated the police

report, which documents a certain end date for the intercourse,

and the evidence presented at Schultz's first trial did not

encompass the same timeframe of the offense charged in his second

prosecution, we conclude that Schultz was not twice in jeopardy

for the same criminal offense. Specifically, the State's second prosecution of Schultz for sexual assault of a child under 16 "on

or about October 19, 2012," did not include the same timeframe as

its first prosecution for repeated sexual assault of a child in

the "late summer to early fall of 2012." We affirm the court of

appeals.

We interpret Schultz's use of the word "burden" in the 2

petition for review to ask which party should have the responsibility to overcome an ambiguous timeframe in a charging document. Due to our determination on the first question, we need not address the second.

2 No. 2017AP1977-CR

I. BACKGROUND

A. Schultz's First Prosecution

¶3 In December 2012, Merrill Police Officer Matthew Waid

interviewed then-fifteen-year-old M.T. after learning she was

pregnant. Waid learned that M.T. had sexual intercourse with a

male named "Dominic" in early to mid-October. M.T. also informed

Waid that she had sexual intercourse with Schultz "approximately

one month before she had sexual intercourse with Dominic." M.T.

confirmed that "she had her period between the time she had sexual

intercourse with Alex" and when she had intercourse with Dominic

in early to mid-October. When questioned by Waid, Schultz denied

having a sexual relationship with M.T.

¶4 In January 2013, Officer Waid conducted two follow-up

interviews with M.T. about her sexual relationship with Schultz.

In the first, M.T. claimed she and Schultz had sexual intercourse

more than five times, beginning in the middle of 2012 and lasting

for a few months. Schultz was either 19 or 20 years old when the

intercourse began. In the second, M.T. showed Waid Facebook messages between her and Schultz on September 3, 2012. In these

messages, Schultz was angry and dismissive of M.T. because he

believed that she was telling other people things that "can put me

in prison." Based upon these messages, the interviews with M.T.,

and interviews with multiple witnesses who suggested knowledge of

a sexual relationship between Schultz and M.T., Waid recommended

charges against Schultz.

3 No. 2017AP1977-CR

¶5 In April 2013, the State filed charges against Schultz

in Lincoln County Circuit Court3 for repeated sexual assault of a

child, a Class C felony.4 The complaint listed the timeframe for

the assaults as "late summer to early fall of 2012." Because

Schultz was a repeat criminal offender with three prior

convictions, the State also charged him with a penalty enhancer

pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 939.62(1)(c)(2017-18).5 The complaint

"incorporated by reference" the entirety of Officer Waid's police

report and attached his report to the complaint. The subsequent

Information also listed "late summer to early fall of 2012" as the

timeframe for the crime. During a pre-trial hearing, the parties

agreed M.T.'s pregnancy was not pertinent to Schultz's trial

because Dominic was presumed to be the child's father.6

3 The Honorable Jay R. Tlusty presided. 4 See Wis. Stat. § 948.025(1)(e). For the jury to convict under § 948.025(1)(e), it must find the defendant engaged in three separate sexual assaults, in violation of Wis. Stat. § 948.02(1) or (2), during the charged timeframe. 5 All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2017-18 version unless otherwise indicated.

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State v. Alexander M. Schultz
2020 WI 24 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2020)

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