State v. Stevenson

2019 WI App 21, 927 N.W.2d 923, 386 Wis. 2d 629
CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedMarch 21, 2019
DocketAppeal No. 2017AP2423-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 2019 WI App 21 (State v. Stevenson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Stevenson, 2019 WI App 21, 927 N.W.2d 923, 386 Wis. 2d 629 (Wis. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

¶1 Emmanuel Stevenson appeals a circuit court order, entered on November 13, 2017, reinstating a prior order granting Stevenson 304 days of sentence credit. Stevenson argues on appeal that he is entitled to additional sentence credit. He also argues that the circuit court violated his due process rights in its determination of sentence credit. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the order of the circuit court.

BACKGROUND

¶2 Stevenson pled guilty on August 2, 1995, to one count of armed robbery as a party to a crime and one count of operating a vehicle without the owner's consent. Stevenson was sentenced on December 27, 1995. On count one, the armed robbery charge, the circuit court imposed and stayed a twenty-year sentence and ordered fifteen years of probation. On count two, operating a vehicle without consent, the court imposed five years' imprisonment. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. The circuit court awarded 304 days of sentence credit on count two, for the time Stevenson spent in pretrial custody between the date of his arrest and the date that a stay of adult court proceedings was lifted,1 plus the time he spent in custody between the entry of his pleas and his sentencing.

¶3 Immediately after sentencing on December 27, 1995, Stevenson began serving his five-year prison sentence on count two, as well the probation ordered on count one. Due to his sentence credit on count two, Stevenson was released on parole on August 15, 1997. He then violated the terms of his parole, and his parole was revoked on May 11, 1999.

¶4 Separately, Stevenson's probation on count one was revoked, on May 26, 2004. The Department of Corrections (DOC) determined that Stevenson's 20-year sentence on count one should begin on November 14, 2003, the date of his arrest that led to probation revocation. Stevenson received 77 days of sentence credit for the time he spent in custody due to probation holds before his November 14, 2003 arrest.

¶5 In 2015, DOC sent a letter to the circuit court suggesting that Stevenson may be entitled to 304 days of sentence credit not only on count two, but also on count one because the court had ordered concurrent sentences.

¶6 Stevenson then filed a motion in which he argued that he was entitled to 511 days of sentence credit. On June 17, 2015, the State filed a letter disputing that Stevenson was entitled to 511 days of credit, but agreed with DOC that he was due 304 days.

¶7 The circuit court then amended the judgment of conviction to reflect 304 days of sentence credit on count one, leaving in place the order that granted 304 days' credit on count two.

¶8 Stevenson moved for reconsideration of the court's rejection of his argument that he was entitled to 511 days' credit and argued that he was denied due process because he never received the State's June 17 letter and did not have an opportunity to reply to it. Based on an assumption in Stevenson's favor that he never received a copy of the State's letter, the circuit court vacated its prior decision as to sentence credit. The court ordered the State to provide Stevenson with a copy of its letter and granted Stevenson leave to file an amended motion.

¶9 Stevenson filed an amended motion for sentence credit, arguing this time that he was entitled to 1,918 days of credit. Upon order of the circuit court, the State filed a response to the motion asserting that, based on jail records, he was entitled to 304 days of sentence credit. The circuit court then entered an order reinstating its prior order granting Stevenson 304 days of sentence credit on count one, leaving in place the 304 days of credit on count two that were granted in the original judgment of conviction. In its order, the court stated that it "could find, that upon the reconsideration requested by Defendant, [that] he is entitled to only 140 days of sentence credit." However, the court relied upon the State's stipulation that Stevenson was entitled to 304 days. This appeal follows.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶10 Whether a defendant is entitled to sentence credit is a question of law that this court reviews de novo. State v. Jackson , 2000 WI App 41, ¶8, 233 Wis. 2d 231, 607 N.W.2d 338. Similarly, whether a defendant has been denied due process is a constitutional issue that we review de novo. State v. Tiepelman , 2006 WI 66, ¶9, 291 Wis. 2d 179, 717 N.W.2d 1.

DISCUSSION

¶11 On appeal, Stevenson argues that the circuit court violated his due process rights in resolving his motion and amended motion for sentence credit. He also argues that he is entitled to additional sentence credit on count one, beyond the 304 days awarded by the circuit court. We will address each argument in turn.

The Circuit Court Did Not Deny Stevenson His Right To Due Process

¶12 The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution protect a defendant "from being deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law." State ex rel. Schatz v. McCaughtry , 2003 WI 80, ¶17, 263 Wis. 2d 83, 664 N.W.2d 596. Here, the circuit court's sentence credit decision affected Stevenson's liberty interest; therefore, he was entitled to a meaningful opportunity to be heard on the issue. Id. , ¶¶17-18. The record reflects that he received that opportunity.

¶13 Stevenson argues that the circuit court violated his right to due process when it amended the judgment of conviction to reflect 304 days of sentence credit on count one, as opposed to 511 days, without first giving him an opportunity to respond to the letter filed by the State on June 17, 2015. The State counters that the court subsequently rectified any error, thereby affording Stevenson a meaningful opportunity to be heard. We agree with the State.

¶14 In State v. Amos , 153 Wis. 2d 257, 281, 450 N.W.2d 503 (Ct. App. 1989), the circuit court amended a judgment of conviction to remove 726 days of sentence credit without notice to the defendant.

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Related

State v. Pettit
492 N.W.2d 633 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1992)
State v. Jackson
2000 WI App 41 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2000)
State v. Boettcher
423 N.W.2d 533 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1988)
State Ex Rel. Schatz v. McCaughtry
2003 WI 80 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2003)
State v. Tiepelman
2006 WI 66 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Amos
450 N.W.2d 503 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1989)
Dieck v. Unified School District of Antigo
458 N.W.2d 565 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1990)
State v. Beiersdorf
561 N.W.2d 749 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1997)
State v. Magnuson
2000 WI 19 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2000)

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Bluebook (online)
2019 WI App 21, 927 N.W.2d 923, 386 Wis. 2d 629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stevenson-wisctapp-2019.