Weston v. State

135 N.W.2d 820, 28 Wis. 2d 136, 1965 Wisc. LEXIS 817
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 25, 1965
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 135 N.W.2d 820 (Weston v. State) 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
Weston v. State, 135 N.W.2d 820, 28 Wis. 2d 136, 1965 Wisc. LEXIS 817 (Wis. 1965).

Opinions

Beilfuss, J.

Defendant presents two issues on this appeal: (1) Did the trial court commit prejudicial error by not submitting verdicts and instructions on manslaughter and lesser degrees of homicide? And (2) did the trial court exceed its jurisdiction when it imposed the consecutive sentence ?

Defendant’s position is that the evidence warranted submission of a form of verdict and instruction on manslaughter.

Neither in the briefs nor at argument does he pursue the alleged error in failing to submit lesser degrees of homicide based upon recklessness and negligence. Clearly, defendant’s acts were not negligent nor reckless and the trial court’s refusal to submit this alternative to the jury was not error.

Sub. (1) of the manslaughter statute (sec. 940.05) provides that when one person causes the death of another, “Without intent to kill and while in the heat of passion,” he may be imprisoned not more than ten years.

Sec. 939.66 provides in part:

“Upon prosecution for a crime, the actor may be convicted of either the crime charged or an included crime, but not both. An included crime may be any of the following:
“(1) A crime which does not require proof of any fact in addition to those which must be proved for the crime charged; or
“(2) A crime which is a less serious type of criminal homicide than the one charged.”

[143]*143The rule is that there must be a reasonable ground for a conviction on the lesser charge and an acquittal of the greater charge before the trial court will be justified in submitting lesser degrees of homicide than that charged in the information. Brook v. State (1963), 21 Wis. (2d) 32, 40, 123 N. W. (2d) 535; State v. Hoyt (1964), 21 Wis. (2d) 284, 290, 128 N. W. (2d) 645; State v. Stortecky (1956), 273 Wis. 362, 369, 77 N. W. (2d) 721. If the evidence does warrant submission of lesser degrees of the offense, failure to do so “results in undeniable prejudice to defendant.” Brook v. State, supra, page 41.

The main thrust of defendant’s argument is that the standard to be applied is one which gives effect to the particular defendant’s state of mind. Defendant submits a standard somewhere between an “objective” and “subjective.” His authority, in general, may be found in the opinion of Mr. Justice Wilkie, concurring in State v. Hoyt, supra, page 298 et seq.

The argument is that we must consider defendant’s limited education, his considerable drinking, and his outrage in having been tricked or duped by Ryan and Mrs. Milligan. The totality of the day, says defendant, shows that he was laboring under such a mental derangement as to have justified an instruction on manslaughter.

In State v. Hoyt, supra, the court firmly committed itself to the long-standing rule which employs the objective standard. The majority opinion states, at page 291:

“ 'Thus, with respect to provocation, the test applied is not the subjective one of whether it was sufficient to produce in defendant such passion as to cause him to kill without intent to do so. Rather it is the objective one of whether the provocation would have caused such state of mind in persons [144]*144ordinarily constituted.’ ” Citing Brook v. State, supra. See State v. Stortecky, supra.2

Manslaughter has been defined as :

“That which will constitute ‘the heat of passion’ which will reduce what would otherwise be murder to manslaughter ‘is such mental disturbance, caused by reasonable, adequate provocation, as would ordinarily so overcome and dominate or suspend the exercise of the judgment of an ordinary man as to render his mind for the time being deaf to the voice of reason; make him incapable of forming and executing that distinct intent to take human life essential to murder in the first degree; and to cause him, uncontrollably, to act from impelling force of the disturbing cause rather than from any real wickedness of heart or cruelty or recklessness of disposition.’ State v. Stortecky (1956), 273 Wis. 362, 372, 77 N. W. (2d) 721. It has been said that ‘ “the provocation, in order to be sufficient in law, must be such as, naturally and instantly, to produce in the minds of persons, ordinarily constituted, the highest degree of exasperation, rage, anger, sudden resentment, or terror.” ’ ” State v. Hoyt, supra, page 290.

Defendant was apparently disappointed over the evening events. The court must, however, decide whether defendant’s failure to illegally satisfy his passions in Lincoln Park and his discovery of having been “duped” could reasonably amount to sufficient provocation. It does not. Under the facts of this case, and in light of the illicit purposes of the evening, this court must rule that, “Such conduct [on the part of Ryan and Mrs. Milligan] does not constitute sufficient provocation to cause such heat of passion in persons [145]*145ordinarily constituted as to cause them to kill without intent to do so. For this reason, the trial court did not commit prejudicial error in refusing to submit the lesser offense of manslaughter.” Brook v. State, supra, page 43.

From the moment defendant awoke on July 3d he accomplished nothing. His evening foray was manifestly asocial. Mrs. Milligan’s tricking him is not of such great moment as to cause raging anger in an ordinarily constituted man. The facts subsequent to the Lincoln Park fiasco do not permit an instruction on manslaughter. Defendant walked many blocks back to the Milligan home. He did not have to go there. During such walk an ordinarily constituted man should have regained his composure. He could have been somewhat piqued, but not senseless with anger. Defendant was the aggressor. How does one justify taking a loaded pistol to an amorous foray? How does one justify using a pistol to recover $10? There is simply too much deliberateness — meanness—leading up to the fatal shooting.

Defendant’s argument would protect asocial behavior. His reasoning would make successive crimes a defense to all such crimes.

The trial court’s instruction on self-defense amply covered the evidence presented by defendant. Sec. 939.48, Stats.

In our efforts to insure that those accused of crimes have the maximum protection of their rights, we must not lose sight of the fact that society is entitled to protection against rules which condone criminal violence.

Defendant claims that since the trial court, on February 8th, did not indicate whether the sentence imposed was concurrent or consecutive, it must be deemed concurrent with the sentence he was presently under.3

[146]*146The trial court expressly deferred execution of the sentence until February 10th with consent of counsel in defendant’s presence. He argues that the trial court may not impose sentence and then stay execution thereof.

The trial court was advised that defendant intended to change his not-guilty pleas on the two robbery charges to guilty. The court intended to consolidate all sentencing matters on February 10th. Execution was properly postponed. Further, what was said in State ex rel. Reynolds v. County Court (1960), 11 Wis. (2d) 512, 105 N. W. (2d) 812, is apposite.

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Bluebook (online)
135 N.W.2d 820, 28 Wis. 2d 136, 1965 Wisc. LEXIS 817, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/weston-v-state-wis-1965.