Sentence — sentence credit

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Wisconsin Court of Appeals

Criminal

Sentence — sentence credit

Where a defendant is in custody both on a criminal charge and a civil commitment, he is entitled to sentence credit on the charge.

“From the date Trepanier began serving his six-month jail term under the civil commitment order until he was sentenced on the burglary charge, Trepanier had an incentive to pay the $1000 purge condition — doing so was one step he needed to take to be released from jail. That Trepanier also needed to pay his $500 cash bail on the burglary charge in order to be released does not obviate the civil commitment’s coercive effect. This is not a situation in which Trepanier had no reason to pay the $1000 purge condition because doing so would have no effect on his ability to get out of jail. Further, because the circuit court made Trepanier’s burglary sentence consecutive to the six-month jail term, the commitment continued to have a coercive effect after Trepanier was sentenced. Neither the circuit court nor the State has explained why it was also necessary to deny Trepanier sentence credit against his burglary sentence in order for the commitment to serve its coercive purpose.”

Reversed and Remanded.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2014AP178-CR State v. Trepanier

Dist. III, Sawyer County, Wright, J., Stark, J.

Attorneys: For Appellant: Bechtold, Frederick A., Taylor Falls, Minn.; For Respondent: O’Brien, Daniel J., Madison; Poquette, Bruce R., Hayward