Zuehl v. State

230 N.W.2d 673, 69 Wis. 2d 355, 1975 Wisc. LEXIS 1531
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 30, 1975
DocketState 19
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 230 N.W.2d 673 (Zuehl 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
Zuehl v. State, 230 N.W.2d 673, 69 Wis. 2d 355, 1975 Wisc. LEXIS 1531 (Wis. 1975).

Opinion

Beilfuss, J.

The only issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in summarily denying defendant’s motion for postconviction relief without a hearing.

*358 Upon review of the record, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in summarily denying defendant’s motion without a hearing.

Sec. 974.06, Stats., in part, provides:

“(1) A prisoner in custody under sentence of a court claiming the right to be released upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the U. S. constitution or the constitution or laws of this state, that the court was without jurisdiction to impose such sentence, or that the sentence was in excess of the maximum authorized by law or is otherwise subject to collateral attack, may move the court which imposed the sentence to vacate, set aside or correct the sentence.
“ (2) A motion for such relief is a part of the original criminal action, is not a separate proceeding and may be made at any time. The supreme court may prescribe the form of the motion.
“ (3) Unless the motion and the files and records of the action conclusively show that the prisoner is entitled to no relief, the court shall:
“ (a) Cause a copy of the notice to be served upon the district attorney who shall file a written response within the time prescribed by the court.
“(b) Appoint counsel pursuant to s. 970.02 (6), if, upon the files, records of the action and the response of the district attorney it appears that counsel is necessary.
“ (c) Grant a prompt hearing.
“(d) Determine the issues and make findings of fact and conclusions of law. If the court finds that the judgment was rendered without jurisdiction, or that the sentence imposed was not authorized by law or is otherwise open to collateral attack, or that there has been such a denial or infringement of the constitutional rights of the prisoner as to render the judgment vulnerable to collateral attack, the court shall vacate and set the judgment aside and shall discharge the prisoner or resentence him or grant a new trial or correct the sentence as may appear appropriate.”

A motion under sec. 974.06 was authorized and intended to be a substantial replacement for the petition for habeas corpus in this court. Peterson v. State (1972), 54 Wis. 2d 370, 195 N. W. 2d 837. The procedure authorized under *359 sec. 974.06 was not intended to result in a loss of rights by one allegedly aggrieved by unlawful restraint, but merely to transfer the forum for the initial hearing and resolution of the disputes thereon to the trial courts. Sec. 974.06 (3), Stats., provides that a trial court shall “. . . Grant a prompt hearing. . . .” unless “. . . the motion and files and records of the action conclusively show that the person is entitled to no relief . . . .” This is much the same standard employed by this court in determining whether a petition for habeas corpus relief contains arguable merit. Under this standard, petitions in this court are liberally construed.

This court has had occasion to determine when a motion pursuant to sec. 974.06, Stats., may be summarily denied without a hearing. In Nelson v. State (1972), 54 Wis. 2d 489, 195 N. W. 2d 629, the defendant moved to withdraw his plea of guilty of manslaughter and also filed a postconviction relief motion pursuant to sec. 974.06. Both motions were denied without an evidentiary hearing. The affidavit in support of the motion to vacate the guilty plea stated:

“[S]aid plea was not made voluntarily after proper advice from counsel and with a full understanding of the consequences of said plea but rather it was obtained unfairly [through] the ignorance and fear of said affiant.”

In respect to this motion to withdraw the plea this court, at page 497, announced the applicable rule:

“. . . if a motion to withdraw a guilty plea after judgment and sentence alleges facts which, if true, would entitle the defendant to relief, the trial court must hold an evidentiary hearing. However, if the defendant fails to allege sufficient facts in his motion to raise a question of fact, or presents only conclusory allegations, or if the record conclusively demonstrates that the defendant is not entitled to relief, the trial court may in the exercise of its legal discretion deny the motion without a hearing.”

*360 The test of whether the petitioner will be afforded an opportunity to prove the allegations in his motion is the same both for a motion to withdraw a guilty plea and a motion for postconviction relief under sec. 974.06. Levesque v. State (1974), 63 Wis. 2d 412, 217 N. W. 2d 317; Smith v. State (1973), 60 Wis. 2d 373, 210 N. W. 2d 678.

In Nelson, supra, we determined that the affidavit alleged insufficient facts and presented only conclusory allegations; and that the defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary or plenary hearing. In Smith, supra, a “bare-bones” allegation that the plea was coerced was held to be a “conclusory allegation” and insufficient to require an evidentiary hearing. Equally insufficient in Levesque, supra, was the allegation that the defendant “. . . at the time of the arraignment was not able to understand the proceedings against him due to a mental disease or a mental defect.” This court found the motion “. . . recited merely the legal grounds upon which it was premised,” and found no facts recited in support of the allegations.

Without facts recited in support of defendant’s allegations, that the confession and the resulting guilty plea were coerced and that he was denied effective assistance of counsel, defendant’s allegations would constitute nothing more than conclusory allegations, insufficient under Nelson, supra, to mandate an evidentiary hearing. However, in the instant case, the defendant alleged in support of his allegations the following facts:

“1. I signed a statement in which I admitted committing the three burglaries involved in this case.
“2. I signed the statement because I was sick and exhausted from extensive use of amphetamines, and because the police told me, ‘Sign these statements and then you can go home . . . Come back tomorrow and get sentenced to probation.’
“3. I entered the plea of guilty because my attorney told me that my signed statement ‘precluded any type of not guilty plea.’ ”

*361 These facts go beyond the stating of mere conclusions and, unless the record conclusively demonstrates that the defendant is not entitled to relief, an evidentiary hearing is necessary to determine the truth of the allegations.

The trial court gave the following reasons in support of its order:

. .

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Bluebook (online)
230 N.W.2d 673, 69 Wis. 2d 355, 1975 Wisc. LEXIS 1531, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/zuehl-v-state-wis-1975.