State of Wisconsin v. Tabitha A. Scruggs

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Tabitha A. Scruggs

Case No.: 2014AP2981-CR

Petitioner, Tabitha Scruggs (“Scruggs”), seeks review of a published court of appeals decision denying her motion for postconviction relief.1 The court of appeals determined that Scruggs failed to demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that imposing a now mandatory $250 DNA surcharge for a single felony conviction constitutes a punishment, violating the prohibition against ex post facto laws set forth in the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions.

Specifically, Scruggs contends that the imposition of this single $250 DNA surcharge is punitive for ex post facto purposes because it was discretionary when she committed the felony offense but mandatory when she was sentenced. She asserts that the statutory amendment making mandatory the imposition of the $250 DNA surcharge at sentencing constitutes an unconstitutional ex post facto law because it retroactively imposes punishment on those who committed a crime before the amendment’s January 1, 2014 effective date.

Like the court of appeals, we conclude that Scruggs has not met her burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that the amended statute is unconstitutional. She has failed to show that the mandatory imposition of this DNA surcharge, which was discretionary at the time she committed the single felony offense, is punitive in either intent or effect and thus violative of the ex post facto prohibition. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals, denying Scruggs’ postconviction motion to vacate the $250 DNA surcharge.

Affirmed

Concurred:

Dissented: Abrahamson

Not Participating:

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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.