State v. Ernesto E. Lazo Villamil

2017 WI 74, 898 N.W.2d 482, 377 Wis. 2d 1, 2017 WL 2875932, 2017 Wisc. LEXIS 393
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 6, 2017
Docket2015AP000791-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 2017 WI 74 (State v. Ernesto E. Lazo Villamil) 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. Ernesto E. Lazo Villamil, 2017 WI 74, 898 N.W.2d 482, 377 Wis. 2d 1, 2017 WL 2875932, 2017 Wisc. LEXIS 393 (Wis. 2017).

Opinions

ANN WALSH BRADLEY, J.

¶ 1. This case examines issues that arise from statutory language that appears to make the offense of causing a death while knowingly operating a motor vehicle after revocation both a felony and a misdemeanor offense. Such an unusual scenario has generated both a petition and cross-petition for review of the court of appeals' decision.

| 2. Petitioner, Ernesto Lazo Villamil (Villamil), seeks review of a court of appeals' decision affirming a circuit court judgment of conviction and order denying his motion for postconviction relief.1

¶ 3. Villamil asserts that the court of appeals erred because the statutory scheme underlying his conviction and sentence, Wis. Stat. § 343.44(1)(b) (2009-10) and Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(ar)4 (eff. March 1, 2012), is ambiguous as to whether he should have been charged with a misdemeanor or a felony. Therefore, he contends that the rule of lenity2 applies and he should have been charged with a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.

¶ 4. He further argues that the statutory scheme is unconstitutional because it violates his rights to both due process and equal protection.3 According to Villamil, the failure of a statute to give fair notice of the proscribed conduct and its consequences violates [8]*8due process. Additionally, he contends that a statute violates his right to equal protection when there is no rational basis for the distinction between misdemeanor and felony penalties.

¶ 5. We conclude that any ambiguity in Wis. Stat. § 343.44(1)(b) (2009-10) and Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(ar)4 (eff. March 1, 2012) is clarified by the statutes' legislative history and thus the rule of lenity does not apply. We further determine that the statutory scheme does not violate his rights to either due process or equal protection. Villamil had fair notice that the prohibited conduct of committing a knowing OAR-violation causing death could result in a felony charge and there is no evidence that the charging decision was based upon an unjustifiable standard such as race, religion, or other arbitrary classification.

f 6. As cross-petitioner, the State seeks review of that part of the court of appeals decision remanding Villamil's case to the circuit court for resentencing. The court of appeals determined that the circuit court failed to consider specific factors enumerated in Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(b) (2013-14) at sentencing. The State, however, asserts that the statute is directory, rather than mandatory. Thus, it contends that the sentencing court was not required to consider all of the enumerated factors.

¶ 7. We agree with the court of appeals that Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(b) is mandatory and that the record at sentencing must demonstrate that the circuit court considered the factors enumerated in the statute.

¶ 8. Accordingly, we affirm the court of appeals decision and remand to the circuit court for a new [9]*9sentencing hearing because the record fails to demonstrate that the circuit court considered the required factors pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(b).

HH

¶ 9. The underlying facts in this case are not in dispute. Villamil drove into the rear of another vehicle, killing the operator of that vehicle. At the scene of the collision, Villamil told the police officer that he did not have a valid driver's license because it had been revoked for an operating while intoxicated offense ("OWI").

¶ 10. Villamil was charged with operating after revocation ("OAR"), causing death, contrary to Wis. Stat. §§ 343.44(l)(b) and (2)(ar)4.4 Wisconsin Statute § 343.44(l)(b), operating after revocation, provides in relevant part that no person may knowingly operate a motor vehicle after revocation. Additionally, Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(ar)4, provides that a person who violates sub. (l)(b) and causes the death of another person, shall be charged with a misdemeanor, except "if the person knows at the time of the violation that his or her operating privilege has been revoked, the person is guilty of a Class H Felony."

¶ 11. In exchange for his no-contest plea, the State recommended a prison sentence, but agreed not to argue for a particular length of time. During the plea colloquy the circuit court discussed the factual [10]*10basis and elements of the offense. Villamil told the court he was aware that his license had been revoked for an alcohol-related offense.

f 12. Neither the complaint, nor anything else in the record alleged that the collision was related to impaired driving. The accident reconstruction report stated that there was "no evidence to suggest that Mr. Lazo Villamil had diminished driving abilities."

¶ 13. Defense counsel argued for a term of probation with an imposed and stayed sentence because Villamil had already been in the county jail for fifteen months. Counsel's argument highlighted mitigating factors, such as Villamil's completion of treatment and other programming, including obtaining his GED. Additionally, he argued that Villamil met all the requirements to reinstate his license, but was unable to do so because of a change in the law.

f 14. At sentencing, the court considered the seriousness of the offense, the need to protect the public, and the rehabilitative needs of the defendant. It observed that the felony offense for a knowing violation of OAR-causing death was new and that the statute's purpose was to protect the public from people whose licenses had been revoked. The court further stated that it could not understand why Villamil was driving on the day of the collision. It opined that matters were made worse because he had been twice convicted of drunk driving and previously served time in jail for an OAR conviction.

¶ 15. The sentencing court commented on the continued problem of people driving without a license, and concluded that all it could do "to respond to the needs of the community as best it can under facility of the law" was to impose the maximum term of imprisonment. It concluded that "this is a serious operating [11]*11after revocation" and sentenced Villamil to the maximum sentence of six years, with three years of initial confinement and three years of extended supervision.

¶ 16. Villamil filed a postconviction motion arguing that Wis. Stat. § 343.44(2)(ar)4 is ambiguous and unconstitutional. Additionally, he requested resentenc-ing, asserting that the sentencing court had not provided an adequate explanation of why it imposed the maximum penalty.

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

Related

Greg Griswold v. Jonathan T. Miles
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2025
Josh Kaul v. Joel Urmanski, as DA for Sheboygan County, WI
2025 WI 32 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2025)
State v. Marquis Hudson
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2024
State v. A. A.
2020 WI App 11 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2020)
State v. Ernesto E. Lazo Villamil
2017 WI 74 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2017 WI 74, 898 N.W.2d 482, 377 Wis. 2d 1, 2017 WL 2875932, 2017 Wisc. LEXIS 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ernesto-e-lazo-villamil-wis-2017.