State v. Willie G. Allison

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedDecember 29, 2021
Docket2020AP001519-CR
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Willie G. Allison (State v. Willie G. Allison) 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. Willie G. Allison, (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. December 29, 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. 2020AP1519-CR Cir. Ct. No. 2017CF890

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT III

STATE OF WISCONSIN,

PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,

V.

WILLIE G. ALLISON,

DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the circuit court for Outagamie County: VINCENT R. BISKUPIC, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Stark, P.J., Hruz and Reilly, 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).

¶1 PER CURIAM. Willie Allison appeals a judgment, entered upon a jury’s verdicts, convicting him of three counts of human trafficking, as a repeater; No. 2020AP1519-CR

one count of second-degree reckless injury, as a repeater; two counts of delivering three grams or less of heroin, as a second or subsequent offense, with one count as a party to a crime; and one count of maintaining a drug trafficking place, as a second or subsequent offense. Allison also appeals the order denying his postconviction motion, which sought a new trial or, in the alternative, resentencing.

¶2 Allison argues that the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct related to the cross-examination of a witness; the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by limiting cross-examination of the same witness; the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for second-degree reckless injury; and he was denied the effective assistance of trial counsel. Allison also claims that the court erroneously exercised its sentencing discretion, and that he is entitled to resentencing with a new presentence investigation report (“PSI”). Finally, Allison contends that the court erred by denying his motion for a new trial without an evidentiary hearing. We reject Allison’s arguments, and we affirm the judgment and order.

BACKGROUND

¶3 The charges against Allison arose from allegations that he forced three women—Melissa, Debra, and Susan1—to engage in prostitution by using physical violence, threats of physical violence, and their heroin and cocaine

1 Consistent with the policy underlying WIS. STAT. RULE 809.86(4) (2019-20), we refer to the victims by pseudonyms.

All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2019-20 version unless otherwise noted.

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addictions to control them. The State further alleged that police and medical personnel responded to what turned out to be Debra’s drug overdose at Allison’s home on Durkee Street in Appleton. According to the complaint, Debra overdosed on heroin that Allison gave her, but she regained consciousness following the administration of Narcan. The State also alleged that Allison and an associate, Marcell Brown, sold heroin to a confidential informant with whom they met in the parking lot of the Outagamie County Justice Center. Multiple witnesses reported that Allison also sold heroin and cocaine from his home.

¶4 After a multi-day trial, a jury convicted Allison of the crimes charged. Out of a maximum possible 136-year sentence (with the repeater enhancements), the circuit court imposed consecutive sentences resulting in a ninety-year term, consisting of sixty years’ initial confinement and thirty years’ extended supervision. Allison’s postconviction motion for a new trial or for resentencing was denied without a hearing. This appeal follows.

DISCUSSION

A. Prosecutorial Misconduct

¶5 Allison argues that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct by objecting to evidence of Melissa’s probationary status, prior convictions, and conditions of her probation, which Allison offered to show an underlying reason for Melissa’s incriminating testimony. Whether prosecutorial misconduct occurred and whether such conduct requires a new trial are within the circuit court’s discretion. State v. Lettice, 205 Wis. 2d 347, 352, 556 N.W.2d 376 (Ct. App. 1996).

3 No. 2020AP1519-CR

¶6 Before trial, the State disclosed that Melissa was placed on probation in three Outagamie County cases on April 4, 2017—more than six months before the complaint was filed in Allison’s case. The State provided defense counsel with the sentencing hearing transcript from Melissa’s cases, and it further disclosed that Melissa had an open criminal referral that the State did not intend to charge. At a pretrial conference, the State asserted that the disclosed information regarding Melissa was irrelevant because her cases were “long settled” prior to the charges against Allison. The circuit court acknowledged that defense counsel could cross-examine witnesses regarding any concession received in exchange for testimony. It determined, however, that “[i]f there’s some case that’s remote that was resolved a long time before this case even started and there’s no link, that should not be brought up[.]” After jury selection, the court reiterated that if defense counsel wished to cross-examine the witnesses regarding any consideration they allegedly received beyond the scope of their proffer letters, he needed to submit an offer of proof. The record does not reflect that defense counsel did so.

¶7 At trial, defense counsel repeatedly attempted to cross-examine Melissa regarding her probationary status and prior arrests. The prosecutor objected, and the circuit court, consistent with its pretrial ruling, sustained the objections. Citing State v. White, 2004 WI App 78, ¶25, 271 Wis. 2d 742, 680 N.W.2d 362, Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 294 (1973), and Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 690 (1986), Allison asserts that the prosecutor committed misconduct by denying him his due process right to present evidence.

¶8 Allison’s reliance on these cases is misplaced. White involved a prosecutor’s failure to disclose evidence, which is not at issue in this case. See White, 271 Wis. 2d 742, ¶22. Chambers involved the review of a Mississippi

4 No. 2020AP1519-CR

common-law rule that a party may not impeach his or her own witness, Chambers, 410 U.S. at 295, and Crane held that a blanket exclusion of proffered testimony about the circumstances of a defendant’s confession deprived him of a fair trial, Crane, 476 U.S at 690. Ultimately, Allison provides no citation to case law suggesting that a prosecutor’s trial objection to the admission of fully-disclosed but irrelevant evidence constitutes prosecutorial misconduct.

B. Circuit Court Limitation on Cross-Examination

¶9 Allison relatedly argues that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion by precluding defense counsel from cross-examining Melissa regarding any effect of her probationary status and conditions of probation on her testimony. A circuit court’s decision to limit cross-examination is reviewed for an erroneous exercise of discretion. State v. Rhodes, 2011 WI 73, ¶24, 336 Wis. 2d 64, 799 N.W.2d 850. Beyond Melissa’s admission to eight prior convictions and the admission of her proffer letter from the State,2 Allison sought to cross-examine Melissa about the details of her prior cases as well as her probationary status.

2 The letter, dated November 15, 2017, provided, in relevant part:

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Related

Chambers v. Mississippi
410 U.S. 284 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Crane v. Kentucky
476 U.S. 683 (Supreme Court, 1986)
State v. Lettice
556 N.W.2d 376 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1996)
State v. Grindemann
2002 WI App 106 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2002)
Shelley v. State
278 N.W.2d 251 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1979)
State v. Gallion
2004 WI 42 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. White
2004 WI App 78 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2004)
State v. Allen
2004 WI 106 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Tiepelman
2006 WI 66 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Bentley
548 N.W.2d 50 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Erickson
596 N.W.2d 749 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. McCall
549 N.W.2d 418 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Echols
499 N.W.2d 631 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1993)
State v. Suchocki
561 N.W.2d 332 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1997)
State v. Poellinger
451 N.W.2d 752 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1990)
Poston v. Burns
2010 WI App 73 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 2010)
State v. Wickstrom
348 N.W.2d 183 (Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, 1984)
State v. Sarabia
348 N.W.2d 527 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1984)
Ocanas v. State
233 N.W.2d 457 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1975)

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State v. Willie G. Allison, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-willie-g-allison-wisctapp-2021.