Winnebago County v. A.A.L.

CourtCourt of Appeals of Wisconsin
DecidedMarch 24, 2021
Docket2020AP001511
StatusUnpublished

This text of Winnebago County v. A.A.L. (Winnebago County v. A.A.L.) 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
Winnebago County v. A.A.L., (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. March 24, 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. 2020AP1511 Cir. Ct. No. 2020ME135

STATE OF WISCONSIN IN COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT II

IN THE MATTER OF THE MENTAL COMMITMENT OF A.A.L.:

WINNEBAGO COUNTY,

PETITIONER-RESPONDENT,

V.

A.A.L.,

RESPONDENT-APPELLANT.

APPEAL from an order of the circuit court for Winnebago County: TERESA S. BASILIERE, Judge. Affirmed. No. 2020AP1511

¶1 REILLY, P.J.1 A.A.L. appeals from an order of the circuit court involuntarily committing her under WIS. STAT. ch. 51.2 A.A.L. argues that Winnebago County (the County) failed to establish that she is dangerous pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 51.20(1)(a)2. We conclude that the evidence supports the circuit court’s conclusion that A.A.L. is mentally ill, is a proper subject for treatment, and is dangerous. Accordingly, we affirm.

Background

¶2 On March 19, 2020, A.A.L. was taken into custody on an emergency detention under WIS. STAT. ch. 51. See WIS. STAT. § 51.15(5) (“The filing of the statement [of emergency detention] has the same effect as a petition for commitment under [WIS. STAT. §] 51.20.”). A circuit court commissioner held a probable cause hearing on March 24, 2020, finding probable cause to support A.A.L.’s continued detention and the administration of medication and treatment subject to a final hearing.

1 This appeal is decided by one judge pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 752.31(2)(d) (2017-18). All references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2017-18 version unless otherwise noted. 2 The circuit court also entered an order for involuntary medication and treatment, which may be entered following a finding by the circuit court that the subject is not competent to refuse medication or treatment. See WIS. STAT. § 51.61(1)(g)3. While A.A.L.’s notice of appeal indicates she is appealing from both orders, the medication and treatment order is not a final order for the purposes of appeal. Moreover, A.A.L. challenges only the commitment order, and she makes no argument that the circuit court erred in concluding that she is not competent to refuse medication. Accordingly, we will address the order for involuntary medication and treatment no further.

2 No. 2020AP1511

¶3 The following facts are taken from testimony presented at the probable cause hearing.3 A.A.L.’s emergency detention resulted from an incident on Oneida Street in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin. On that day, A.A.L. ran out of gas and was stalled in traffic. As there was no shoulder to pull over onto, she remained in the right lane of the four-lane street. The conditions on that day were unfavorable: it was raining; it was dusk and growing dark; and there was “heavy traffic flow.” A.A.L. did not have her lights or hazard lights on.

¶4 When a community service officer (CSO) arrived to assist her, A.A.L. refused. Instead, she “attempted to flag down traffic in order to get someone else’s attention” by “roll[ing] down her window and … waiving her hands at traffic as it was passing.” The CSO sought to assist A.A.L. for about an hour; each time A.A.L. would “roll up the window when the CSO would talk to her.” A police officer eventually arrived on scene; she testified that A.A.L.’s “demeanor was non-cooperative and relatively aggressive.”4 A.A.L. declined to identify herself, but she suggested that her refusal to speak to the CSO was a result of her belief that the officers “had deactivated her vehicle with their cell phones and [she] blamed officers for her being stalled in traffic.”

¶5 Eventually, A.A.L.’s brother and mother arrived on the scene, and after “lengthy negotiations,” were able to convince A.A.L. to exit her vehicle. Her

3 A.A.L. cited the testimony at her probable cause hearing in her briefs. While the County observed that “this is an unusual occurrence,” it agreed that “providing some details about [A.A.L.’s] detention and history of dangerousness found in the probable cause transcript” is helpful. We agree and will do so as well. 4 The officer testified that A.A.L. “exhibited body language, behaviors of someone that would have posed an imminent threat to officers,” including “the thousand-yard stare, staring off in the distance, not appearing to look at anything, avoiding eye contact, body shifting movements, [and] reaching around for things inside of the vehicle.”

3 No. 2020AP1511

brother testified that when A.A.L. did finally leave her vehicle, she “hit [the door] forcefully” by “kick[ing] it open,” and her brother explained that “[i]f [he] would have lost [his] footing, [A.A.L.] would have thrown [him] into traffic.” At that point he reported being “afraid for myself, for my mom, and for my sister”; he did not know “what her reaction would be,” as A.A.L. had previously “threatened [their] mom.” A.A.L.’s brother also testified that there had been “multiple occasions” in the preceding sixty to ninety days in which A.A.L. reported being lost or stranded and in need of assistance. A.A.L. was eventually taken to the hospital.

¶6 At the final commitment hearing, on April 2, 2020, Dr. Marshall Bales, M.D., and Dr. Kevin W. Miller, Ph.D., testified. Each opined that A.A.L. was mentally ill, a proper subject for treatment, and dangerous.5 The circuit court concluded that the County had satisfied the requirements under WIS. STAT. § 51.20(1)(a)1.-2., and it entered a six-month commitment order, including a firearm ban, and an order for involuntary medication and treatment. A.A.L. appeals.

Involuntary Commitment and Standard of Review

¶7 Pursuant to WIS. STAT. § 51.20(1)(a), to involuntarily commit an individual, the county must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the person is (1) mentally ill, (2) a proper subject for treatment, and (3) dangerous. See § 51.20(1)(a)1.-2., (13)(e); Langlade County v. D.J.W., 2020 WI 41, ¶29, 391 Wis. 2d 231, 942 N.W.2d 277. Where the challenged order is an initial

5 The testimony of the examiners will be discussed in more detail later in the decision.

4 No. 2020AP1511

commitment, § 51.20(1)(a)2.a.-e. outlines “five different means of demonstrating that a person is ‘dangerous.’” D.J.W., 391 Wis. 2d 231, ¶30. If any of those subparagraphs are demonstrated, an individual is “dangerous.” Id. Whether the county has met its burden under the statute is a mixed question of fact and law. Id., ¶24. “[W]e will uphold a circuit court’s findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous,” meaning that they are “against the great weight and clear preponderance of the evidence.” Id. “Whether the facts satisfy the statutory standard is a question of law that we review de novo.” Waukesha County v. J.W.J., 2017 WI 57, ¶15, 375 Wis. 2d 542, 895 N.W.2d 783. We now address the issues raised by A.A.L. on appeal.

Mootness

¶8 As an initial matter, A.A.L. concedes that the initial commitment order in this case has expired. A.A.L. argues, however, that her appeal is not moot as her commitment carries collateral consequences for her, including the firearms ban, “the stigma associated with an involuntary commitment,” and possible travel restrictions.

¶9 We agree that the issue is not moot. Whether an issue is moot is a question of law that we review de novo. Marathon County v. D.K., 2020 WI 8, ¶16, 390 Wis. 2d 50, 937 N.W.2d 901. “An issue is moot when its resolution will have no practical effect on the underlying controversy.” Id., ¶19 (citation omitted).

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Bluebook (online)
Winnebago County v. A.A.L., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/winnebago-county-v-aal-wisctapp-2021.