State v. Escalona-Naranjo

517 N.W.2d 157, 185 Wis. 2d 168, 1994 Wisc. LEXIS 95
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 22, 1994
Docket92-0846
StatusPublished
Cited by343 cases

This text of 517 N.W.2d 157 (State v. Escalona-Naranjo) 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. Escalona-Naranjo, 517 N.W.2d 157, 185 Wis. 2d 168, 1994 Wisc. LEXIS 95 (Wis. 1994).

Opinions

[170]*170JANINE P. GESKE, J.

This is an appeal from an order of the Dane County Circuit Court, Robert R. Pekowsky, Circuit Judge, in a proceeding under sec. 974.06, Stats.,1 to vacate a judgment of conviction or, in [171]*171the alternative, order a new trial for defendant Bárbaro Escalona-Naranjo (Escalona-Naranjo). Escalona-Naranjo argued that his conviction resulted from a denial of his state and federal right to effective assistance of counsel under art. I, secs. 7 and 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution2 and the sixth and fourteenth [172]*172amendments to the United States Constitution.3 By order dated March 9, 1992, the court dismissed Escalona-Naranjo's amended sec. 974.06 motion. The court concluded that each of the issues raised in Escalona-Naranjo's motion had been raised in initial postconviction motions to the circuit court, and on appeal. As such, a motion under sec. 974.06 could not be used to review issues which were or could have been litigated on direct appeal.

The court of appeals certified Escalona-Naranjo's appeal from the circuit court decision to this court, pursuant to sec. (Rule) 809.61, Stats.

[173]*173The issue in this case is whether Escalona-Naranjo is prohibited from raising his claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel in a postconviction motion under sec. 974.06, Stats., if such a claim could have been raised in a previously filed sec. 974.02 motion and/or on direct appeal. We conclude that Escalona-Naranjo could have raised the ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim in postconviction motions under sec. 974.02, Stats.4 Therefore, we hold that Escalona-Naranjo is precluded from raising that issue in a sec. 974.06 motion. We now affirm the order of the circuit court dismissing Escalona-Naranjo's sec. 974.06 motion.

In December, 1984, a criminal complaint was filed, charging Escalona-Naranjo with two counts of possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver, in violation of secs. 161.14(4)(n), 161.14(4)(t), and 161.41(lm)(b), Stats. 5 Escalona-Naranjo was convicted of both counts following a jury trial in February, [174]*1741986. Though the initial date for sentencing was to occur in May, 1986, trial counsel filed a motion to vacate the conviction and requested an inquiry as to Esealona-Naranjo's mental condition. A competency hearing was held in August of that year, wherein Escalona-Naranjo was determined to be competent for sentencing.

Following Esealona-Naranjo's sentencing in September, 1986, defense counsel filed a notice of intent to seek postconviction relief. See sec. 809.30(2)(b), Stats. Pursuant to sec. 974.02, Stats., postconviction motions for a new trial, competency redetermination, and resentencing were filed in December, 1986.

In July, 1987, the circuit court issued a memorandum decision denying Esealona-Naranjo's motion to vacate the judgment and order a new trial. The court stated that the "defendant has failed to show the existence of error sufficient to justify an order vacating the [175]*175judgment and granting a new trial. Nor has defendant shown that the cumulative impact of the challenged evidentiary decisions was sufficiently prejudicial to require grant of defendant's motion."

After the court of appeals affirmed the judgment of the circuit court, Escalona-Naranjo filed a sec. 974.06, Stats., motion in July, 1990. An amended motion was filed in February, 1991. Escalona-Naranjo claimed relief because his conviction resulted from a denial of his right to effective assistance of trial counsel under art. I, secs. 7 and 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution and the sixth and fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution. Specifically, Escalona-Naranjo argued that certain evidence and testimony admitted at trial should have been objected to by trial counsel and that the failure to object resulted in a waiver of the right to appeal on these issues.

The state, in its motion to summarily dismiss Escalona-Naranjo's sec. 974.06 motion, argued that all of the alleged errors claimed had been previously raised in the 1986 postconviction motion and on appeal. The state contended that merely rephrasing the issues submitted on appeal would not constitute the basis for a sec. 974.06 motion.

The circuit court adopted the reasoning of the state and dismissed the sec. 974.06 motion. Escalona-Naranjo sought further review by the court of appeals. Certifying the case to this court, the court of appeals stated that even though Escalona-Naranjo waived certain evidentiary issues because he did not object at trial, the sec. 974.06 motion may have raised new issues not decided on direct appeal.

This case involves the construction of sec. 974.06, Stats. A question of statutory construction is a question [176]*176of law which this court decides independently and without deference to the reasoning of the lower courts. Pulsfus Farms v. Town of Leeds, 149 Wis. 2d 797, 803-04, 440 N.W.2d 329 (1989) (citing Sacotte v. Ideal-Werk Krug & Priester, 121 Wis. 2d 401, 405, 359 N.W.2d 393 (1984), and Ball v. District No. 4, Area Board, 117 Wis. 2d 529, 537, 345 N.W.2d 389 (1984)). See also City of Muskego v. Godec, 167 Wis. 2d 536, 545, 482 N.W.2d 79 (1992) (with the construction of a statute, an appellate court is not bound by a trial court's conclusions of law and decides the matter de novo).

PURPOSE OF SECTION 974.06, STATS.

With the exception of subsection (4), sec. 974.066 is a direct adaptation of 28 U.S.C. sec. 2255.7 The federal statute attempted to provide "an expeditious remedy for correcting erroneous sentences without resorting to habeas corpus." Angela B. Bartell, Comment, Wisconsin Post Conviction Remedies — Habeas Corpus: Past, Present and Future, 1970 Wis. L. Rev. 1145, 1152 [hereinafter Wisconsin Post Conviction Remedies]. See also U.S. Code Congr. Serv. 1248 (1949) (Act of May 24, 1949). In fact, as applied in Wisconsin, the postconviction motion procedure under sec. 974.06 was "designed to replace habeas corpus as the primary method in which a defendant can attack his conviction after the time for appeal has expired." Howard B. Eisenberg, Post-Conviction Remedies in the 1970's, 56 Marq. L. Rev. 69, 79 (1972).

In 1972, this court stated that

[177]*177[t]he postconviction motion under sec. 974.06, Stats., is not a substitute for a motion for a new trial. A sec. 974.06 motion can be made only after the defendant has exhausted his direct remedies which consist of a motion for a new trial and appeal. A sec. 974.06 motion is limited in scope to matters of jurisdiction or of constitutional dimensions. The motion must not be used to raise issues disposed of by a previous appeal.

Peterson v. State, 54 Wis. 2d 370, 381, 195 N.W.2d 837 (1972) (footnote omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
517 N.W.2d 157, 185 Wis. 2d 168, 1994 Wisc. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-escalona-naranjo-wis-1994.