Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Lee Vang

Case No.: 2017AP75-CR; 2017AP76-CR; 2017AP77-CR

Officials: Brennan, P.J., Brash and Dugan, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Lee Vang appeals a judgment of conviction and an order denying his postconviction motion without a hearing. A jury convicted Vang of seven counts: second-degree sexual assault, victim intimidation, battery, two counts of bail jumping, and two counts of disorderly conduct.

The charges arose from two incidents. In December 2013, Vang threatened police and multiple family members when his wife, J., reported domestic violence to police. In June 2014, Vang battered and sexually assaulted. The six counts in those cases were set for jury trial on October 29, 2014, but Vang failed to appear. A new bail-jumping charge was filed. That case was consolidated with the first two cases, and Vang proceeded to trial. The trial took place from May 18 through May 21, 2015.

Vang argues that he is entitled to a Machner hearing and that the trial court erred in denying his motion without a hearing. His claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel are based on counsel’s failure to object at trial to the admission of three pieces of evidence: (1) a police officer’s testimony that repeated statements the victim made to him about the June 2014 assault; (2) Vang’s own testimony, elicited on direct examination, about participating in what Vang described as “an illegal street race” for money; and (3) the State’s question to Vang, on cross-examination, about his knowledge that a Milwaukee television news channel reported Vang’s failure to appear at his 2014 trial date in a local segment called “Wisconsin’s Most Wanted.”

We conclude that the record, as a matter of law, conclusively demonstrates Vang is not entitled to relief, so it was a matter of the trial court’s discretion whether to permit a hearing. We further conclude that the postconviction court did not erroneously exercise its discretion when it denied Vang an evidentiary hearing. We therefore affirm.

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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.