By: Derek Hawkins//October 28, 2015//
Criminal
WI Court of Appeals – District II
Officials: Neubauer, C.J., Reilly, P.J., and Gundrum, J
Pleas & Sentencing – Sentence Modification
2014AP2392-CR State of Wisconsin v. Courtney E. Sobonya
Courtney Sobonya requested expungement of her criminal record at her sentencing for possession of heroin. The trial court denied her request on the ground that granting expungement would undermine the deterrent effect of the court’s sentence. Sobonya thereafter retained an expert who opined that granting expungement would not undermine the deterrent effect of the court’s sentence and offered his report as a “new factor” relevant to the court’s decision on expungement. The trial court accepted the expert’s postsentencing report as a “new factor” but nonetheless denied sentence modification. We agree with the court’s ultimate decision. We write to clarify that a contrary opinion, particularly one that centers on a matter relating to the objectives of sentencing (protection, punishment, rehabilitation, and deterrence), 1 is not a “new factor” for purposes of sentence modification.
Decision
Affirmed. Recommended for Publication