State v. Davis

2019 WI App 5, 925 N.W.2d 777, 385 Wis. 2d 513
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin·Decided December 11, 2018·No. Appeal No. 2017AP942-CR·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinion

DUGAN, J.

¶1 Howard D. Davis appeals from the judgment of conviction, following a jury trial, finding him guilty as a party to the crimes of first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety, with both crimes having use of a dangerous weapon and repeat offender penalty enhancers. He also appeals the order denying his postconviction motion.1

¶2 On appeal, Howard Davis argues that the trial court erred when it failed to conduct an evidentiary hearing on his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and juror misconduct. More specifically, Howard Davis claims that trial counsel was ineffective because trial counsel (1) did not present purported alibi evidence, (2) did not obtain the testimony of a person who was present during the shooting, (3) did not adequately question a witness regarding the details of her prior convictions, (4) did not request the other acts jury instruction regarding rap lyrics, (5) did not request the other acts jury instruction regarding testimony that he failed to notify the police that a victim had shot him, (6) did not request the jury instruction addressing consideration received by a witness in exchange for testifying, and (7) did not request a jury instruction addressing the missing recording of that witness's statement.2 He also asserts that the trial court (1) erred by applying an incorrect legal standard when it overruled trial counsel's objection to the testimony of the witness whose recorded statement was missing, and (2) erred by denying his juror misconduct claim without an evidentiary hearing.

¶3 We are not persuaded. We conclude that Howard Davis did not allege sufficient facts regarding his ineffective assistance of trial counsel and juror misconduct claims that would entitle him to relief and, therefore, the trial court properly denied his motion without a hearing. We also conclude that Howard Davis did not preserve his claim that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard in overruling trial counsel's objection to the testimony of the witness whose recorded statement was missing. Consequently, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶4 On June 6, 2014, at about 9:09 p.m., two men fired shots from a passing vehicle at R.H. and J.W. near North 16th Street and West North Avenue in Milwaukee. Two Milwaukee police officers were dispatched to the scene and found J.W. on the ground in a parking lot with a gunshot wound to the left side of his abdomen. J.W. told one of the officers that he heard the gunshots coming from a black Chevrolet Suburban with large chrome wheels and tinted windows, and that the Suburban was traveling north on 16th Street.

¶5 Further to the west in an alley, R.H. was face down on the ground with four gunshot wounds-he had no pulse. R.H. died of the multiple gunshot wounds.

¶6 Two detectives investigated the scene and collected evidence. In the parking lot, they recovered a fired bullet, which was later sent to the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory for examination. They also checked the area for any businesses and private residences that had surveillance devices that included video recordings from the time of the shooting.

¶7 Detective Timothy Graham examined the surveillance videos and testified that the videos depicted a silver/gray Saturn sports utility vehicle (SUV) drive up and that shots were fired from two areas within the SUV. The videos also showed a blue Chevrolet Suburban that was closely following the SUV stop for a few seconds as the shots were fired. The Suburban had some distinctive Milwaukee Brewers' logos on it. Further investigation led the police to Fabian Edmond, the owner of the Suburban. According to Edmond, during the shooting, three men-Edmond, Earnest Davis, and Eddie Davis and a two-year-old child-were with him in his Suburban. Edmond was driving, Earnest Davis was in the front passenger seat, and Eddie Davis was in the back seat with the sleeping child.

¶8 On June 11, 2014, the police arrested Howard Davis for his suspected involvement in the shootings and he was held in custody at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility.

¶9 The State contended that it found rap lyrics that Howard Davis wrote in his jail cell portraying himself as a revenge killer. The police found the rap lyrics and Howard Davis's inmate identification card under the mattress of the top bunk on June 25, 2014, when they executed a search warrant for the cell occupied by Howard Davis at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility. Further, testimony reflected that while Howard Davis was in custody he told inmate Willie Nelson that he killed R.H. and told inmate Jamil Tubbs that he shot J.W. in the face.

¶10 On August 24, 2014, the State charged Howard Davis with one count of first-degree reckless homicide as a party to a crime, and one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety as a party to a crime, with use of a dangerous weapon and repeat offender penalty enhancers for each offense, and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, with a repeat offender penalty enhancer.

¶11 Trial counsel filed motions in limine to exclude evidence that R.H. told others that he shot Howard Davis in the past as being inadmissible hearsay and also to exclude the rap lyrics as inadmissible hearsay or inadmissible other acts evidence. The trial court denied the motions in limine .

¶12 During March 2015, the trial court presided over a four-day jury trial. During trial, the trial court overruled trial counsel's objection to the testimony of Nelson whose recorded statement was missing. The jury returned verdicts finding Howard Davis guilty of the first-degree reckless homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety charges, and not guilty of the possession of a firearm by a felon charge. The trial court imposed a global sentence of sixty-two years consisting of forty-five years of initial confinement and seventeen years of extended supervision.

¶13 Howard Davis filed a postconviction motion alleging seven ways that trial counsel failed to provide effective representation during trial. He also asserted that he was entitled to a new trial due to juror misconduct. The State filed a response and a motion to strike most of the juror statements Howard Davis filed in support of his motion. Howard Davis filed a reply in support of his postconviction motion, but did not respond to the motion to strike. Subsequently, in a written decision, the trial court granted the State's motion to strike and denied Howard Davis's postconviction motion without a hearing. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

¶14 On appeal, Howard Davis asserts that the trial counsel was ineffective in seven ways during trial, and that the trial court erred by applying an incorrect legal standard when it overruled trial counsel's objection to the testimony of Nelson whose recorded statement was missing and erred by denying his postconviction juror misconduct claim without an evidentiary hearing.

I. Standard of review and applicable law

Pleading requirements to obtain an evidentiary hearing

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State v. Davis, 2019 WI App 5, 925 N.W.2d 777, 385 Wis. 2d 513 (Wis. Ct. App. 2018).

2019 WI App 5 (State v. Davis) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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