Statutory Interpretation – Supervised Release

Listen to this article

WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Robert Larson, Jr.,

Case No.: 2016AP2415

Officials: Lundsten, P.J., Blanchard and Kloppenburg, JJ.

Focus: Statutory Interpretation – Supervised Release

Robert Larson appeals an order that denied his motion to enforce a stipulation in which the State agreed not to oppose Larson’s petition for supervised release from a WIS. STAT. ch. 980 commitment in exchange for Larson’s agreement not to file a petition for discharge until after having completed 24 months of uninterrupted supervised release in the community. Larson contends that his ability to obtain supervised release under the stipulation was prevented by the operation of WIS. STAT. § 980.08(5m) (2015-16), which prohibits the placement of persons adjudicated to be sexually violent in any facility that did not exist before January 1, 2006. Larson challenges § 980.08(5m) as unconstitutional both on its face and as applied. For the reasons discussed below, we reject Larson’s challenges to the constitutionality of § 980.08(5m), and affirm the order of the circuit court.

Full Text

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.