State v. Williams

2019 WI App 5, 925 N.W.2d 781, 385 Wis. 2d 514
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in State v. Williams. Read the opinion of the Court — 380 Wis. 2d 440
Court of Appeals of Wisconsin·Decided December 18, 2018·No. Appeal No. 2017AP2203-CR·Published

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

¶1 Zachary Williams appeals from a judgment convicting him of armed robbery as party to a crime and from an order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Williams contends he should be allowed to withdraw his no-contest plea because the circuit court failed to advise him: (1) he would be required to pay a DNA surcharge; (2) he had a right to a unanimous jury verdict; and (3) about the effect of read-in charges. Williams also challenges the procedure used to enter a restitution award against him.

¶2 We conclude the court properly denied Williams' plea withdrawal motion and the alleged procedural error regarding the restitution award was merely a clerical error. Accordingly, we modify the judgment of conviction to conform to the circuit court's oral pronouncement at sentencing regarding restitution. With that modification, the judgment and postconviction order are both affirmed.

BACKGROUND

¶3 The State charged Williams and two co-defendants with several counts arising out of the robbery of a convenience store by three masked men, two of whom were armed. Williams eventually agreed to enter a no-contest plea to a single charge of armed robbery, as party to a crime, in exchange for having the other charges against him dismissed and read in and the State agreeing to cap its sentence recommendation.

¶4 At the plea hearing, the circuit court conducted a brief colloquy to ascertain Williams' understanding of his constitutional rights, as well as of the nature of the charge and the potential penalties he faced. The court did not explicitly state during the colloquy that Williams had a right to a unanimous jury verdict or that Williams would be required to pay a mandatory DNA surcharge. Nor did the court explain how read-in charges could be considered. However, Williams presented the court with a signed plea questionnaire stating that Williams was giving up his right to have all twelve jurors agree he was either guilty or not guilty and that he understood the court could consider any read-in charges when imposing sentence, but that the court could not increase the maximum penalty based upon them. The court asked Williams whether he understood the information on the plea questionnaire before it accepted his plea, and Williams indicated that he did.

¶5 A presentence investigation report (PSI) recommended that Williams and his co-defendants be held jointly and severally liable for restitution in the amount of $2,643.04. At the sentencing hearing, the State advised the circuit court that one of the co-defendants had already paid the entire restitution amount from his cash bond. The court subsequently ordered that Williams would be required to pay one third of that amount, to be collected by the Department of Corrections. The court also imposed a bifurcated prison sentence, which is not at issue on this appeal.

¶6 Notwithstanding the circuit court's oral pronouncement regarding restitution, the judgment of conviction the clerk of the circuit court entered included a notation that restitution was "TBD," meaning it was to be determined. The comments section on the judgment further directed that Williams was to pay his "share" of the restitution already paid by a co-defendant, without specifying the amount. The judgment also included a DNA surcharge of $250.

¶7 Williams filed two postconviction motions seeking to withdraw his plea and to vacate the restitution award. Williams alleged that his plea was unknowingly entered because the circuit court did not inform him-and he did not otherwise understand-that there would be a mandatory DNA surcharge imposed, that he had a constitutional right to jury unanimity, and the consequences of reading in the dismissed charges. Williams also asserted that the restitution award was invalid because the court did not follow any of the statutory procedures set forth in WIS. STAT. § 973.20(13)(c) (2015-16),1 for having the amount of restitution be determined after the sentencing hearing.

¶8 Without taking evidence, the circuit court denied both Williams' claim regarding the DNA surcharge based upon State v. Scruggs , 2017 WI 15, 373 Wis. 2d 312, 891 N.W.2d 786 and his restitution claim, noting that the record established the total amount of restitution as $2,643.04. The court granted Williams an evidentiary hearing on his remaining claims-namely, that he had not understood either the jury unanimity requirement or how read-in offenses could be considered at sentencing.

¶9 At the plea withdrawal hearing, Williams' trial counsel testified that he had reviewed the plea questionnaire with Williams and, because of the seriousness of the armed robbery charge, he had spent extra time discussing Williams' rights and what it meant to read in offenses. The plea questionnaire showed that the read-in offenses language had been underlined. Counsel believed Williams understood both that he was giving up his right to a jury trial at which unanimity would be required and that the circuit court could consider the dismissed charges at sentencing. Williams also testified, and he acknowledged that his trial counsel had reviewed the plea questionnaire with him and that he (i.e., Williams) had signed it.

¶10 In ruling on the motion, the circuit court first noted that it had paid attention to Williams' demeanor during the plea hearing, that Williams had a high school diploma or equivalent, and that Williams had informed the court at the plea hearing that he was clear headed and that he understood the information in the plea questionnaire. The court believed that Williams was truthful when he made those assertions. The court then made factual determinations that Williams had, in fact, understood that the jury would need to reach a unanimous decision and that the court could consider the dismissed charges at sentencing. The court further concluded that there was no manifest injustice warranting plea withdrawal and denied Williams' postconviction motion.

DISCUSSION

Plea Withdrawal

¶11 To withdraw a guilty or no-contest plea after sentencing, a defendant must demonstrate either that the plea colloquy was defective and the defendant did not understand information that should have been provided, or that some other manifest injustice occurred. See generally State v. Bangert , 131 Wis. 2d 246, 389 N.W.2d 12 (1986). No hearing is required when the defendant presents only conclusory allegations, or the record establishes that the defendant is not entitled to relief. Nelson v. State , 54 Wis. 2d 489, 497-98, 195 N.W.2d 629 (1972).

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State v. Williams, 2019 WI App 5, 925 N.W.2d 781, 385 Wis. 2d 514 (Wis. Ct. App. 2018).

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