State v. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedSeptember 28, 2021
Docket2020AP001118-CR
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr. (State v. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr.) 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. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr., (Wis. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

COURT OF APPEALS DECISION NOTICE DATED AND FILED This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. September 28, 2021 A party may file with the Supreme Court a Sheila T. Reiff petition to review an adverse decision by the Clerk of Court of Appeals Court of Appeals. See WIS. STAT. § 808.10 and RULE 809.62.

Appeal No. 2020AP1118-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2017CF4173

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT I

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

TIMOTHY CHRISTOPHER SCOTT, JR.,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the circuit court for Milwaukee County: T. CHRISTOPHER DEE and MICHELLE ACKERMAN HAVAS, Judges. Affirmed.

Before Donald, P.J., Dugan and White, JJ.

Per curiam opinions may not be cited in any court of this state as precedent

or authority, except for the limited purposes specified in WIS. STAT. RULE 809.23(3). No. 2020AP1118-CR

¶1 PER CURIAM. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr. appeals from a judgment of conviction entered following a jury trial for two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent, and one count of felony bail jumping. He also appeals an order of the circuit court denying his postconviction motion for relief, without a hearing. He argues on appeal that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to dismiss count three for possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

¶2 On September 9, 2017, Scott was charged with two counts of first- degree recklessly endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent, and one count of felony bail jumping following a shooting that occurred at 2725 West Capitol Drive in Milwaukee on May 24, 2017. According to the criminal complaint, an eyewitness, Nicole,1 was waiting at a bus stop when she saw an accident at the entrance to a gas station between “a four-door ‘dirty bronze’ vehicle with dark tinted windows” and “a four[-]door gray Nissan with dark tinted windows.” She also told police that “the bronze vehicle proceeded to exit the lot and drive north,” and then “it was stopped in the far right lane when the front passenger of the vehicle suddenly opened his door and produced a handgun.” She stated the passenger “fired about eight gunshots” and said it was “a black handgun and it

1 For ease of reading and to protect confidentiality, we use a pseudonym when referring to the eyewitness in this case.

2 No. 2020AP1118-CR

appeared to have an extended magazine.” When she subsequently viewed a photo array, Nicole identified Scott as the passenger in the bronze vehicle who fired the shots. Further investigation also led police to find a firearm matching the bullet casings left at the scene in a vehicle connected to Scott, and a gun case with the same serial number as the firearm in a search of Scott’s residence.

¶3 Scott proceeded to a jury trial in December 2018.2 Nicole testified at the trial; however, at times she denied making some of her prior statements to police of what she saw and her identification of Scott that she previously provided to the police. As a result, the State called Detective Kent Gordon to testify regarding his interview of Nicole, during which she provided statements detailing her account of the shooting, and the State also called Detective Steven Johnson to testify about Nicole’s identification of Scott during the photo array. Trial counsel did not object to this testimony from these detectives.

¶4 Over the course of the trial proceedings, Scott also moved—once on the first day of trial and again at the close of the State’s case—to dismiss count three for possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent on the basis that his delinquency adjudication was void because, at the time of his adjudication, the juvenile court failed to inform him of his right to petition the court for release from the firearms prohibition under WIS. STAT. § 941.29(8) (2019-20),3 as

2 The Honorable T. Christopher Dee presided over Scott’s trial and denied Scott’s motion to dismiss count three for possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent. The Honorable Michelle Ackerman Havas entered the decision and order denying Scott’s postconviction motion. We refer to Judge Dee as the trial court and Judge Havas as the circuit court. 3 All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2019-20 version unless otherwise noted.

3 No. 2020AP1118-CR

required by WIS. STAT. § 938.341. Scott also contended that the State failed to allege and prove what he argues is an element of the charge of possession of a firearm by a person adjudicated delinquent contained in § 941.29(8)—namely, that Scott was not exempt from § 941.29(1m)(bm).4 Thus, Scott argued that the State failed to “charge a crime.”

¶5 The trial court denied his motion. In so doing, the trial court found WIS. STAT. § 941.29(8) “is an option” for Scott to ask the court to find him eligible to possess a gun and is not a “requirement or a penalty” under § 941.29(1m)(bm) that the juvenile court was required to inform Scott of under WIS. STAT. § 938.341. Thus, the trial court found that the juvenile court was not required to inform Scott at the time of the juvenile adjudication of that option. Scott then stipulated to his prior delinquency adjudication, and the jury was informed that Scott had been adjudicated delinquent prior to May 24, 2017, and was, as a result, prohibited from possessing a firearm.

¶6 The jury ultimately found Scott guilty of all counts, and the trial court subsequently sentenced him to a total of fourteen years of imprisonment, composed of nine years of initial confinement and five years of extended supervision.

¶7 Scott filed a motion for postconviction relief in which he argued that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the testimony of Detectives Gordon and Johnson. The circuit court denied his motion without a hearing,

4 WISCONSIN STAT. § 941.29(8) provides that § 941.29(1m)(bm) does not apply to a person adjudicated delinquent if a court subsequently determines that the person is not likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.

4 No. 2020AP1118-CR

finding that the testimony of Detectives Gordon and Johnson was not hearsay and was admissible as testimony of the prior inconsistent statements of Nicole. In so doing, the circuit court rejected Scott’s reliance on State v. Lenarchick, 74 Wis. 2d 425, 247 N.W.2d 80 (1976), saying that it did not apply to the situation presented:

Unlike Lenarchick, here, the court did not need to make a determination regarding [Nicole]’s memory failure and whether it rendered her testimony inconsistent with her prior statements. While the defendant attempts to paint [Nicole]’s testimony as pure memory failure, in fact, [Nicole] made a number of blanket statements divorced from her memory issues, which were patently inconsistent with the statements that were subsequently introduced through the detectives.

This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION

I. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

¶8 Scott argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial counsel failed to object to what Scott alleges was hearsay testimony from Detectives Gordon and Johnson about Nicole’s statement and identification of Scott. We disagree.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Timothy Christopher Scott, Jr., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-timothy-christopher-scott-jr-wisctapp-2021.