State v. Michael R. Luedtke

CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 24, 2015
Docket2013AP001737-CR
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Michael R. Luedtke (State v. Michael R. Luedtke) 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. Michael R. Luedtke, (Wis. 2015).

Opinion

2015 WI 42

SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN CASE NO.: 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR COMPLETE TITLE: State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Michael R. Luedtke, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner. ------------------------------------------------ State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Jessica M. Weissinger, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

REVIEW OF A DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS (Reported at 355 Wis. 2d 436, 851 N.W.2d 837) (Ct. App. 2014 – Published) PDC No: 2014 WI App 79 ----------------------------------------------- REVIEW OF A DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS (Reported at 355 Wis. 2d 546, 851 N.W.2d 780) (Ct. App. 2014 – Published) PDC No: 2014 WI App 73

OPINION FILED: April 24, 2015 SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT: February 3, 2015

SOURCE OF APPEAL: COURT: Circuit/Circuit COUNTY: Winnebago/Ozaukee JUDGE: Karen L. Seifert /Sandy A. Williams

JUSTICES: CONCURRED: ABRAHAMSON, C.J., concurs. (Opinion Filed.) DISSENTED: NOT PARTICIPATING:

ATTORNEYS: For the defendant-appellant-petitioner Michael R. Luedtke, the cause was argued by Donald T. Lang. There were briefs by Donald T. Lang, assistant state public defender. For the defendant-appellant-petitioner Jessica M. Weissinger, the cause was argued by Gerald P. Boyle. There were briefs by Gerald P. Boyle, and Boyle, Boyle & Boyle, S.C., Milwaukee.

For the plaintiff-respondent in both cases, the cause was argued by Winn S. Collins, assistant attorney general, with whom on the briefs was J.B. Van Hollen, attorney general.

2 2015 WI 42 NOTICE This opinion is subject to further editing and modification. The final version will appear in the bound volume of the official reports. No. 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR (L.C. No. 2009CF871 & 2010CF116)

STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT

State of Wisconsin,

Plaintiff-Respondent, FILED v. APR 24, 2015 Michael R. Luedtke, Diane M. Fremgen Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner. Clerk of Supreme Court

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

Jessica M. Weissinger,

Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Affirmed.

¶1 MICHAEL J. GABLEMAN, J. This is a review of two published decisions of the court of appeals, State v. Luedtke, No. 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR

2014 WI App 79, 355 Wis. 2d 436, 851 N.W.2d 837, and State v. Weissinger, 2014 WI App 73, 355 Wis. 2d 546, 851 N.W.2d 780. We consolidated the cases for the purpose of this opinion because both present the same issue on largely similar facts. Both cases require us to examine the constitutional implications of blood sample destruction that deprived the defendants of the opportunity to independently test their samples. ¶2 In Luedtke, the Winnebago County District Attorney's Office charged Michael R. Luedtke ("Luedtke") with one count of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance (diazepam and methadone), seventh, eighth, or ninth offense, contrary to Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(a) (2009-

10),1 and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a

1 All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2009-10 version unless otherwise indicated.

Wisconsin Stat. § 346.63(1)(a) states:

No person may drive or operate a motor vehicle while: Under the influence of an intoxicant, a controlled substance, a controlled substance analog or any combination of an intoxicant, a controlled substance and a controlled substance analog, under the influence of any other drug to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving, or under the combined influence of an intoxicant and any other drug to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving.

Diazepam is listed as a Schedule IV controlled substance under Wis. Stat. § 961.20(2)(cr). Methadone is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance under Wis. Stat. § 961.16(3)(r).

2 No. 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR

detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance (cocaine and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine2) in the blood, seventh, eighth, or ninth offense, contrary to Wis. Stat. § 346.63(1)(am).3 The jury found Luedtke not guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance but found him guilty of operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood. The Winnebago County circuit court4 withheld a sentence and placed Luedtke on probation for a period of four years, with 12 months of conditional jail time, imposed and stayed. ¶3 Luedtke filed a post-conviction motion arguing that the State violated his due process rights when the Wisconsin

State Laboratory of Hygiene ("Laboratory") destroyed his blood sample, in accordance with routine procedures, before he had the opportunity to test it. Luedtke also argued that the charge of

2 See Benzoylecgonine, http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/benzoylecgonine (last visited Feb. 9, 2015). 3 Wisconsin Stat. § 346.63(1)(am) states: "No person may drive or operate a motor vehicle while: The person has a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood."

Wisconsin Stat. § 967.055(1m)(b) defines restricted controlled substance as any of the following: "1. A controlled substance included in schedule I under ch. 961 other than a tetrahydrocannabinol. 2. A controlled substance analog, as defined in s. 961.01 (4m), of a controlled substance described in subd. 1. 3. Cocaine or any of its metabolites. 4. Methamphetamine. 5. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol." 4 The Honorable Karen L. Seifert, presiding.

3 No. 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR

operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood is unconstitutional without scienter.5 The Winnebago County circuit court rejected both claims, and Luedtke appealed. ¶4 The court of appeals affirmed and concluded (1) that the State did not violate Luedtke's due process rights when the Laboratory destroyed his blood sample in accordance with routine procedures; and (2) that the statute prohibiting operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood is a strict liability offense, and thus does not require scienter. Luedtke, 355 Wis. 2d 436, ¶1. Further, the court concluded that the statute was

constitutional. Id. ¶5 In Weissinger, the Ozaukee County District Attorney's Office charged Jessica M. Weissinger ("Weissinger") with one count of injury by use of a vehicle with a restricted controlled substance in the blood causing great bodily harm, contrary to Wis. Stat. § 940.25(1)(am),6 and one count of operating a motor vehicle with a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in the blood (Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol ("THC")),

5 Scienter is defined as "[a] degree of knowledge that makes a person legally responsible for the consequences of his or her act or omission." Black's Law Dictionary 1463 (9th ed. 2009). 6 Wisconsin Stat. § 940.25(1)(am) states: "Any person who does any of the following is guilty of a Class F felony: Causes great bodily harm to another human being by the operation of a vehicle while the person has a detectable amount of a restricted controlled substance in his or her blood."

4 No. 2013AP1737-CR & 2013AP218-CR

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