Plea Withdrawal

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Timothy L. Finley, Jr.

Case No.: 2014AP2488-CR

Focus: Plea Withdrawal

Appellant entitled to withdraw his plea given the circumstances.

“Under the circumstances of the instant case, Bangert, Brown, Cross, and Taylor lead us to conclude that Finley is entitled to withdraw his plea: The circuit court misinformed Finley of the potential punishment he faced if convicted, information the circuit court was required to give the defendant; and the State failed to prove that when Finley entered his plea he knew the potential punishment he faced if convicted. The case law tells us that under these circumstances Finley was entitled to withdraw his plea. Bangert, 131 Wis. 2d at 283 (“When a defendant established a denial of a relevant constitutional right, withdrawal of the plea is a matter of right.”); Brown, 293 Wis. 2d 594, ¶19 (“When a guilty plea is not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary, a defendant is entitled to withdraw the plea as a matter of right because such a plea ‘violates fundamental due process.'”) (quoting Van Camp, 213 Wis. 2d at 139); see also Cross, 326 Wis. 2d 492, ¶20 (“If the State cannot meet its burden [of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent despite the deficiencies of the plea hearing,] the defendant is entitled to withdraw his plea as a matter of right.”) (citing Van Camp, 213 Wis. 2d at 139).”

Affirmed

Concurring:

Dissenting: ZIEGLER, J. dissents (Opinion filed). BRADLEY, R. G., J. dissents (Opinion filed).

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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.