State v. Cassius A. Foster

2014 WI 131, 856 N.W.2d 847, 360 Wis. 2d 12, 2014 Wisc. LEXIS 952
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedDecember 26, 2014
Docket2011AP001673-CRNM
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 2014 WI 131 (State v. Cassius A. Foster) 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
State v. Cassius A. Foster, 2014 WI 131, 856 N.W.2d 847, 360 Wis. 2d 12, 2014 Wisc. LEXIS 952 (Wis. 2014).

Opinions

N. PATRICK CROOKS, J.

¶ 1. This is a review of an unpublished opinion and order of the court of appeals1 accepting post-conviction counsel's no-merit report and affirming the circuit court's conviction of the defendant, Cassius A. Foster (Foster).

[19]*19¶ 2. Following a jury trial, Foster was convicted of operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant, sixth offense, in violation of Wis. Stat. § 346.63(l)(a).2 The circuit court, Monroe County, the Honorable Todd L. Ziegler, presiding, entered a judgment of conviction on September 23, 2010. The circuit court withheld sentence and placed Foster on probation for three years, with one year of jail time as a condition of probation.

¶ 3. Thereafter, Foster filed a post-conviction motion seeking resentencing on the basis that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to collaterally attack three prior drunk-driving convictions which enhanced his sentence. The circuit court ultimately denied the motion. The circuit court reasoned that Foster was not prejudiced by his trial counsel's failure to collaterally attack the three prior convictions because that challenge was unlikely to succeed.

¶ 4. Foster's post-conviction counsel then filed a no-merit report with the court of appeals. The court of appeals accepted the no-merit report and affirmed Foster's conviction.

¶ 5. Foster, proceeding pro se, filed a petition for review with this court. His petition focused solely on the issue of whether he possessed a meritorious claim for ineffective assistance of counsel.

¶ 6. While Foster's petition was pending before the court, the United States Supreme Court decided Missouri v. McNeely, 569 U.S. _, 133 S. Ct. 1552 (2013). McNeely abrogated our decision in State v. Bohling, 173 Wis. 2d 529, 547-48, 494 N.W.2d 399 (1993), to the extent that we held the natural dissipa[20]*20tion of alcohol in a person's bloodstream constitutes a per se exigency so as to justify a warrantless nonconsensual blood draw under certain circumstances. Because it appeared to us that the police relied on Bohling to effectuate the search and seizure of Foster's blood, we granted review.

¶ 7. Accordingly, this case presents two issues for our determination: (1) whether the warrantless non-consensual blood draw performed on Foster is constitutional in light of the United States Supreme Court's decision in McNeely, and if not, whether suppression of the evidence derived from Foster's blood is the appropriate remedy for that constitutional violation, or alternatively, whether the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies; and (2) whether the court of appeals properly accepted post-conviction counsel's no-merit report.

¶ 8. We hold that McNeely applies retroactively to the facts of this case and that the warrantless nonconsensual blood draw performed on Foster violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. However, we decline to apply the exclusionary rule to suppress the evidence derived from Foster's blood. Because the police acted in objectively reasonable reliance upon the clear and settled precedent of Bohling in effectuating the search and seizure of Foster's blood, the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule precludes suppression of the evidence.

¶ 9. We further hold that the court of appeals properly accepted post-conviction counsel's no-merit report. The court of appeals reasonably exercised its discretion in finding no arguable merit to Foster's ineffective assistance of counsel claim on the basis that Foster failed to demonstrate the requisite prejudice to support that claim.

[21]*21¶ 10. Therefore, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals and uphold Foster's conviction.

I

¶ 11. On March 6, 2009, at approximately 11:55 p.m., Officer Jarrod Furlano of the Tomah Police Department stopped Foster's vehicle for traveling fifty miles per hour in a thirty mile per hour speed zone. When approached by Officer Furlano, Foster struggled to lower his window and to produce his driver's license. Observing that Foster had glassy, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, Officer Furlano asked Foster whether he had been consuming alcohol. Foster responded that he had consumed a couple beers.

¶ 12. As a result, Officer Furlano had Foster exit his vehicle for standardized field sobriety testing. He asked Foster to perform the "horizontal gaze nystagmus test," the "walk and turn test," and the "one leg stand test." According to Officer Furlano, Foster failed all three tests.

¶ 13. Officer Furlano then placed Foster under arrest and transported him to Tomah Memorial Hospital for a blood draw. Foster refused to consent to the draw. Acting without a warrant, Officer Furlano instructed a registered nurse to draw Foster's blood. The blood draw occurred at approximately 12:50 a.m. The results showed that Foster's blood-alcohol level was .112 at the time of the draw.

¶ 14. On March 20, 2009, Foster was charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant (OWI), seventh offense.3 The State later [22]*22amended the criminal complaint on May 28, 2009, to charge Foster with his sixth, not seventh, OWI.

¶ 15. On May 27, 2010, a jury convicted Foster of OWI. The State then introduced certified driving records from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Texas to establish that Foster had five prior drunk-driving convictions for purposes of sentencing under Wis. Stat. § 346.65(2)(am)5.4

¶ 16. On September 23, 2010, the circuit court entered a judgment of conviction reflecting Foster's sixth OWI offense. The circuit court withheld sentence and placed Foster on probation for three years, with one year of jail time as a condition of probation.

¶ 17. Foster then filed a post-conviction motion seeking resentencing on the basis that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to collaterally attack his three prior drunk-driving convictions from Oklahoma. Underlying Foster's ineffective assistance claim was his contention that those convictions were obtained in [23]*23violation of his constitutional right to counsel; thus, the prior convictions should not have enhanced his sentence in this case.

¶ 18. In support of his motion, Foster submitted an affidavit alleging the following facts for each prior conviction: (1) he entered his guilty plea without the advice of counsel; (2) he did not affirmatively waive his right to counsel; and (3) he was not advised of his right to counsel. Foster further averred that he would have asked for a lawyer in each case because: (1) he did not know how serious the charge was; (2) he did not know how a conviction would affect him in the future; (3) he did not know that an attorney could assist him in contesting the charges against him; and (4) he did not know the difficulties and disadvantages of representing himself.

¶ 19. On June 15, 2011, the circuit court held a hearing pursuant to State v. Machner, 92 Wis. 2d 797, 285 N.W.2d 905 (Ct.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Pablo D. Beyer
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2025
State v. Carl Lee McAdory
2025 WI 30 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2025)
State v. Carl Lee McAdory
2024 WI App 29 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2024)
State v. Frank K. Miles, Jr.
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2021
State v. Mose B. Coffee
2020 WI 53 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2020)
State v. Justin W. Paull
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2019
State v. Steven T. Delap
2018 WI 64 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2018)
State v. David W. Howes
2017 WI 18 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2017)
State of Tennessee v. Corrin Kathleen Reynolds
504 S.W.3d 283 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2016)
State v. Wade F. Liles
191 So. 3d 484 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2016)
State v. John N. Willis
District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2016
State v. Andy J. Parisi
2016 WI 10 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2016)
People v. Harrison
2016 IL App (5th) 150048 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 2016)
State v. Dean M. Blatterman
2015 WI 46 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2015)
State v. Michael R. Griep
2015 WI 40 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2015)
State v. Meitler
347 P.3d 670 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2015)
State v. Michael R. Tullberg
2014 WI 134 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2014)
State v. Alvernest Floyd Kennedy
2014 WI 132 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2014)
State v. Cassius A. Foster
2014 WI 131 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2014 WI 131, 856 N.W.2d 847, 360 Wis. 2d 12, 2014 Wisc. LEXIS 952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cassius-a-foster-wis-2014.