Juveniles – delinquency — plea withdrawal

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Civil

Juveniles – delinquency — plea withdrawal

In this delinquency case, Darold M. seeks to withdraw his plea of admission to armed robbery as a party to a crime, a violation of Wis. Stat. §§ 943.32(1)(a), (2) and 939.05, arguing that the plea colloquy was deficient under Wis. Stat. § 971.08(1) and State v. Bangert, 131 Wis. 2d 246, 389 N.W.2d 12 (1986). More specifically, Darold argues that his plea was deficient because he failed to check a box on the guilty plea questionnaire answering whether he understood the charges to which he was pleading, including whether the charge was a felony. In a postdisposition motion to withdraw his plea, Darold argued that his failure to check the box was evidence that “the plea may be involuntary.”

We conclude that Darold has not met his burden of showing that plea withdrawal is necessary to prevent a manifest injustice under the juvenile plea statute, Wis. Stat. § 938.30(8), and Bangert. The plea hearing transcript clearly demonstrates that the circuit court personally addressed Darold and explained the charge to which Darold was pleading, its elements, its felony status and Darold’s penalty exposure. After Darold acknowledged that he understood and his attorney confirmed that fact, the circuit court determined that Darold’s admission was knowing, free and voluntary. Thus, we conclude plea withdrawal is not necessary to prevent a manifest injustice and affirm both the circuit court’s dispositional order[3] and its order denying Darold’s postdisposition motion to withdraw his plea. This opinion will not be published.

2012AP1020 In the interest of Darold M.

Dist I, Milwaukee County, Christenson, J., Brennan, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Kay, Timothy T., Brookfield; For Respondent: Stoiber, John M., Milwaukee