State v. McCallum

561 N.W.2d 707, 208 Wis. 2d 463, 1997 Wisc. LEXIS 35

• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Decided: April 18, 1997
• Docket: 95-1518-CR
• Status: Published

Opinions

WILLIAM A. BABLITCH,J.

¶1. Ronald V. Me Callum (McCallum) was convicted of second degree sexual assault of H.L., a minor, under Wis. Stat. § 948.02(2). The prosecution was based solely on H.L.'s uncorroborated testimony. One year after McCallum was convicted, H.L. recanted her accusation. Relying on H.L.'s recantation, McCallum filed a post-conviction motion to withdraw his Alford plea. Concluding that H.L.'s recantation was "less credible" than her original accusation, the Circuit Court for Brown County, Judge Peter J. Naze, presiding, denied McCallum's motion. The court of appeals held that the circuit court had applied the wrong legal standard in determining whether there was a reasonable probability of a different outcome, and reversed and remanded for-a new trial.¹ We agree. The standard is whether there is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the accusation and the recantation, would have a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt. However, we reverse that part of the court of appeals' decision granting a new trial. We remand to the circuit court to apply the proper legal standard to determine whether Me Callum should be allowed to withdraw his plea.

¶ 2. The facts pertinent to this appeal are as follows: In February 1993, McCallum, his girlfriend, Sandra L., and Sandra's daughter, H.L., lived together. Although Sandra was still married to H.L.'s father, they were in the process of divorcing. During this time, H.L. accused McCallum of sexual contact. She reported her accusation to the Green Bay police department. Me Callum was charged with one count of second degree sexual assault. A preliminary hearing was held at which H.L. was the sole witness against McCallum. She repeated her accusations against him. On May 19, 1993, maintaining his innocence, McCallum entered an Alford plea and was convicted of second degree sexual assault.

¶ 3. In May 1994, H.L. recanted. After speaking with her mother, H.L. wrote a letter, which was given to McCallum's attorney, stating that she had made up the story of McCallum grabbing her breast so she could get him out of her mother's life. She hoped her parents would reconcile. In the letter, H.L. explained that she set up a situation "so [McCallum] didn't have a witness to back up his story." Her letter concluded:

He was arrested on Feb 26,1993 & was sent to jail that weekend. He was released and had to move out because of the case. He was sentenced to 6 months in the County Jail for a crime he didn't commit [sic]. I realize that what I said was not the truth and I'm sorry that I said what I said. I want him to be free of all this because I feel that I com-mited [sic] an error so long ago that wasn't right. I just hope Ron McCallum, the corts [sic] and everybody else will forgive me.

¶ 4. Based on H.L.'s recantation of her original statement, McCallum filed a post-sentencing motion to withdraw his Alford plea. Sandra and H.L. testified at the post-conviction hearing. During the hearing, Judge Naze explained to H.L. that she had "a right to not answer any question that might tend to incriminate her" and a right to talk to an attorney. He also explained that if she were to testify that she had lied under oath, she would be committing a criminal or delinquent juvenile offense. Consequently, the hearing was interrupted and resumed after the court appointed an attorney for H.L.

¶ 5. The facts elicited from H.L. and Sandra's testimony at the post-conviction hearing follow: Me Callum was Sandra's boyfriend with whom she had a six-year relationship. When she heard of H.L.'s allegation, Sandra was skeptical but did not accuse H.L. of lying. Sandra maintained her relationship with McCal-lum throughout the case despite H.L.'s original allegation and despite the no contact order. She would have liked to have continued living with McCallum. Nonetheless, Sandra never explained to H.L. that if H.L. would admit that she lied, McCallum could live with them again. When asked whether H.L. knew of the no contact order, Sandra answered that she had never mentioned it to H.L.

¶ 6. In early 1993, Sandra was in the process of obtaining a divorce. During that period, H.L. was skipping school, coming home late, and not obeying house rules. Because Sandra worked nights, and McCallum worked the day shift, he was responsible for enforcing the rules and disciplining H.L.

¶ 7. H.L. testified that during this time, she was upset, hurt, and angry because her mother and father were going through a divorce. She blamed McCallum for the divorce and felt that he was trying to take the place of her father. She resented the fact that he was disciplining her. At the time H.L. accused him of sexual contact, McCallum had "grounded" her for almost three months. She first related her accusation to her sister, Joy, because she believed Joy would report the assault to Social Services.

¶ 8. In May 1994, H.L. told her mother that she had lied to the police and to the circuit court about what happened with McCallum, and she wanted to resolve it. H.L. asked her mother what she could do. Her mother replied that she could talk to McCallum's attorney or write a letter. On May 3,1994, H.L. handed her mother a letter stating that she had lied. Sandra testified that she neither participated in the letter writing, nor knew H.L. was writing it. At H.L.'s suggestion, the letter was witnessed by Sandra and H.L.'s grandmother.

¶ 9. H.L. testified that everything in the letter was true and that no one told her what to say or assisted her in any way. She insisted that she had falsely accused McCallum of sexual contact; no one influenced her to recant; and she understood that she was admitting to perjury. She confessed her lie to her mother and wrote the letter because she felt that Me Callum "shouldn't have a criminal record because I lied about the stuff — about him supposedly sexually assaulting me."

¶ 10. H.L. further testified that, at the time of her accusation, she hoped to get McCallum out of the home so that her mother and father would have a chance to get back together. She believed the accusation would accomplish this because her friend's brother had to move out of the house when he sexually assaulted his sister. She made the specific allegation "because there were no witnesses and.. .no evidence."

¶ 11. Under cross-examination, H.L. agreed that things were "better" when McCallum was living in the home, and she was aware that in order for him to return to the home, she would have to return to court and recant her accusation.

¶ 12. After the hearing, the circuit court denied McCallum's motion to withdraw his Alford plea. It found H.L.'s recantation to be uncorroborated and less credible than her accusations. After finding "the victim's uncorroborated recantation to be less credible" than the accusations she made to her sister, to the police, and to the circuit court at the preliminary hearing, the circuit court concluded that there was no reasonable probability that a different result would occur at trial.

¶ 13. The court of appeals reversed, ordering a new trial and stating that if a reasonable jury could believe the recantation, that determination would be sufficient to meet the requirement of a reasonable probability of a different result at trial. We agree that the circuit court applied the wrong standard of law. We remand to the circuit court to apply the correct standard. In addition, the court of appeals held that corroboration is required, and McCallum has met the corroboration requirement. We agree.

¶ 14. This case presents three issues: (1) Whether the circuit court applied an erroneous legal standard when determining that there was not a reasonable probability of a different outcome. (2) Whether the recantation of an uncorroborated allegation must be supported by newly discovered evidence corroborating evidence of the recantation, and, if so, whether that requirement was met. (3) Whether the appropriate remedy, in this case, is remand directing a grant of the motion to withdraw the plea, or for redetermination by the circuit court, applying the correct legal standard, of McCallum's request to withdraw his plea.

¶ 15. After sentencing, a defendant who seeks to withdraw a guilty or no contest plea carries the heavy burden of establishing, by clear and convincing evidence, that withdrawal of the plea is necessary to correct a manifest injustice. State v. Krieger, 163 Wis. 2d 241, 249, 471 N.W.2d 599 (1991). The withdrawal of a plea under the manifest injustice standard rests in the circuit court's discretion. Id. at 250. We will only reverse if the circuit court has failed to properly exercise its discretion. Id. An exercise of discretion based on an erroneous application of the law is an erroneous exercise of discretion. State v. Martinez, 150 Wis. 2d 62, 71, 440 N.W.2d 783, 787 (1989).

¶ 16. Newly discovered evidence may be sufficient to establish that a manifest, injustice has occurred. Krieger, 163 Wis. 2d at 255. For newly discovered evidence to constitute a manifest injustice and warrant the withdrawal of a plea the following criteria must be met. First, the defendant must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that: (1) the evidence was discovered after conviction; (2) the defendant was not negligent in seeking evidence; (3) the evidence is material to an issue in the case; and (4) the evidence is not merely cumulative. If the defendant proves these four criteria by clear and convincing evidence, the circuit court must determine whether á reasonable probability exists that a different result would be reached in a trial. Finally, when the newly discovered evidence is a witness's recantation, we have stated that the recantation must be corroborated by other newly discovered evidence. Zillmer v. State, 39 Wis. 2d 607, 616, 159 N.W.2d 669 (1968).

j.

¶ 17. The first issue we address is whether the circuit court applied an erroneous legal standard when concluding that there was not a reasonable probability of a different outcome. In determining whether there was a reasonable probability of a different result, the circuit court stated that H.L.'s recantation was less credible than her accusation. Therefore, the court concluded, McCallum could not withdraw his Alford plea because "there is no reasonable probability that a different result would occur at trial."

¶ 18. The problem here rests with the circuit court's determination that H.L.'s recantation was less credible than her accusation. That is not the appropriate standard. The correct legal standard when applying the "reasonable probability of a different outcome" criteria is whether there is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the accusation and the recantation, would have a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt. This standard is equally applicable to motions to withdraw an Alford plea, motions to withdraw a guilty plea, and motions for a new trial. State v. Krieger, 163 Wis. 2d 241, 255, 471 N.W.2d 599 ( Ct. App. 1991).

¶ 19. The circuit court concluded that there was no reasonable probability that a different result would be reached at a new trial because H.L.'s recantation was less credible than her accusation. One does not necessarily follow from the other. A reasonable jury finding the recantation less credible than the original accusation could, nonetheless, have a reasonable doubt as to a defendant's guilt or innocence. It does not necessarily follow that a finding of "less credible" must lead to a conclusion of "no reasonable probability of a different outcome." Less credible is far from incredible. A finding that the recantation is incredible necessarily leads to the conclusion that the recantation would not lead to a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury. However, a finding that a recantation is less credible than the accusation does not necessarily mean that a reasonable jury could not have a reasonable doubt. Therefore, in sum, in determining whether there is a reasonable probability of a different outcome, the circuit court must determine whether there is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the accusation and the recantation, would have a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt.² If so, the circuit court must grant a new trial. Accordingly, we hold that the circuit court employed the wrong legal standard when determining that there was not a reasonable probability of a different outcome. Therefore, we affirm that part of the court of appeals' decision reversing the circuit court.

HH I — I

¶ 20. Next, we consider the issue of corroboration. The rule is that newly discovered recantation evidence must be corroborated by other newly discovered evidence. Zillmer, 39 Wis. 2d at 616; Rohl v. State, 64 Wis. 2d 443, 219 N.W.2d 385 (1974). McCallum argues that the corroboration requirement should be abandoned because of the high hurdle it creates for the defendant who must corroborate — with newly discovered evidence — the recantation of an uncorroborated accusation. The State of Wisconsin (State) argues that the corroboration requirement must be maintained, even in the case of uncorroborated accusations, because recantation testimony is inherently unreliable. Although we agree with the State that the corroboration requirement must be maintained, we further conclude that it was met in this case.

¶ 21. There is sound reason to adhere to the requirement. Recantations are inherently unreliable. Dunlavy v. Dairyland Mut. Ins. Co., 21 Wis. 2d 105, 114, 124 N.W.2d 73 (1963). The recanting witness is admitting that he or she has lied under oath. Either the original sworn testimony or the sworn recantation testimony is false. Because of the unreliability of recantations, we reaffirm the rule that recantation testimony must be corroborated by other newly discovered evidence.

¶ 22. Alternatively, McCallum argues that the corroboration requirement was satisfied in this case by the newly discovered evidence contained in H.L.'s post-sentencing statement regarding her motive for the accusation against McCallum.

¶ 23. We agree with the court of appeals that the difficulty in this kind of case is manifest: How can a defendant corroborate the recantation of an accusation that involves solely the credibility of the complainant, inasmuch as there is no physical evidence and no witness. McCallum must corroborate H.L.'s recantation of her uncorroborated accusation. The court of appeals, recognizing the unique difficulty presented by this case, properly concluded that McCallum met the corroboration requirement:

[T]he degree and extent of the corroboration required varies from case to case based on its individual circumstances. Here, the sexual assault allegation was made under circumstances where no others witnessed the event. Further, there is no physical evidence that could corroborate the original allegation or the recantation. Under these circumstances, requiring a defendant to redress a false allegation with significant independent corroboration of the falsity would place an impossible burden upon any wrongly accused defendant. We conclude, under the circumstances presented here, the existence of a feasible motive for the false testimony together with circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of the recantation are sufficient to meet the corroboration requirement.

¶ 24. State v. McCallum, 198 Wis. 2d 149, 159-60, 542 N.W.2d 184 (1995). We agree. The rule has been, and remains, that recantation testimony must be corroborated by other newly discovered evidence. We hold that the corroboration requirement in a recantation case is met if: (1) there is a feasible motive for the initial false statement; and, (2) there are circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of the recantation.

¶ 25. We conclude that McCallum has established a feasible motive for H.L.'s accusation. First, she wanted her divorcing parents to reconcile. Second, she resented McCallum for attempting to take the place of her father. Finally, she was angry at McCallum for disciplining her. The newly discovered requirement is met inasmuch as the motives for H.L.'s initial accusation were unknown until she revealed them when she recanted.

¶ 26. We further conclude that there are sufficient circumstantial guarantees of the trustworthiness of H.L.'s recantation. The recantation is internally consistent, and was given under oath. Furthermore, the recantation is consistent with circumstances existing at the time of H.L.'s initial allegation, as testified to by H.L.'s mother: that she and H.L.'s father were in the process of divorcing, and that McCallum had disciplined H.L. for her misconduct involving school truancy, coming home late, and not observing rules of the house. Finally, H.L. was advised at the time of her recantation that she faced criminal consequences if her initial allegations were false. In sum, McCallum has established newly discovered evidence corroborating H.L.'s recantation, and has also provided sufficient circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness of the recantation. Here, the newly discovered evidence requirement is met inasmuch as the motives for the initial accusation were unknown to the trier of fact at the time of trial.

r=H HH HH

¶ 27. McCallum asks us to apply the proper standard and conclude that H.L.'s recantation raises a reasonable probability of a different outcome, and hence, remand to the circuit court for a new trial - a trial in which both H.L.'s recantation and her accusation are admissible. He argues that where, as here, the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by applying the wrong legal standard, a new trial is required. We disagree.

¶ 28. Although we could apply the proper legal standard to the facts of this case and determine whether McCallum should be permitted to withdraw his Alford plea, Libke v. State, 60 Wis. 2d 121, 129, 208 N.W.2d 331 (1973), our independent review of the record indicates that the wiser course, under these facts, is to remand this case to the circuit court for a hearing to apply the proper legal standard.

¶ 29. Recantation, by its very nature, calls into question the credibility of the witness or witnesses. During the preliminary hearing, under oath, H.L. accused McCallum of pinching her breasts. During the post-conviction hearing, again under oath, she swore that her original sworn testimony was false. During at least one of these hearings, H.L. lied under oath.

¶ 30. H.L.'s credibility is crucial to the application of the proper legal standard, and the circuit court judge is in a much better position to resolve the question of whether the recantation would raise a reasonable doubt in the minds of a jury that is looking at both the recantation and the original statement.

¶ 31. This court is bound by the cold, appellate record. We have read and reread the testimony of H.L. and her mother. Nonetheless, our consideration is limited to the written word and rarely can credibility be judged by words alone. More often, credibility, or lack thereof, is revealed by a close examination of the witness's demeanor. The cold record does not reflect the witness's demeanor and all its facets; the circuit court has the advantage of observing them.

¶ 32. Because the circuit court is in a better position to determine whether a reasonable probability exists that a reasonable jury looking at both the recantation and the original accusation would have a reasonable doubt as to McCallum's guilt, we defer this determination to the circuit court. Accordingly, the court of appeals' decision granting a new trial is reversed and the cause remanded to the circuit court to apply the proper legal standard to determine whether McCallum should be allowed to withdraw his plea.³

By the Court. — The decision of the court of appeals is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and cause remanded to the circuit court with directions.

1 In the case of a conviction subsequent to an Alford plea, the "different outcome" to which we refer is the different outcome of a trial, not a "new" trial inasmuch as there has never been a trial.

2 Language that appears in the court of appeals' opinion is somewhat problematic. The court of appeals says at one point: "This requirement [there must be a reasonable probability of a different result] is met in this case if a reasonable jury could accept the recantation as true."

Shortly thereafter, the court of appeals says that the standard is met "if a reasonable jury could believe the recantation."

The question, of course, is not whether the jury could accept the recantation as true, or even whether the jury could believe it. A jury does not necessarily have to accept a recantation as true, nor believe it, in order to have a reasonable doubt. Therefore, as we state above, and as the court of appeals correctly concluded, the question is whether there is a reasonable probability that a jury, looking at both the accusation and the recantation, would have a reasonable doubt as to the defendant's guilt.

3 McCallum's motion to strike references to the defendant's presentence investigation report from the State's brief is granted. See State v. Comstock, 168 Wis. 2d 915, 923-25, 485 N.W.2d 354 (1992).