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Court Error – Voluntary Plea

By: Derek Hawkins//May 24, 2017//

Court Error – Voluntary Plea

By: Derek Hawkins//May 24, 2017//

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Thomas E. Koellen

Case No.: 2016AP910

Officials: Kloppenburg, P.J., Lundsten and Sherman, JJ.

Focus: Court Error – Voluntary Plea

In 2005, Thomas Koellen pled no contest to three counts of second degree sexual assault. In 2014, Koellen filed a postconviction motion to withdraw his pleas on the ground that the plea colloquy was deficient. The circuit court held an evidentiary hearing and denied Koellen’s motion.  Koellen argues that the circuit court erroneously determined that the State met its burden to prove that Koellen knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered his pleas despite the allegedly deficient plea colloquy. As we explain, we conclude that Koellen’s motion failed to demonstrate a plea colloquy defect Accordingly, the circuit court could have denied Koellen’s plea withdrawal motion without a hearing and, thus, we affirm the denial of his plea withdrawal motion, on grounds different from those relied on by the circuit court.

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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