Abuse of Discretion – Expert Testimony

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Anthony Jones

Case No.: 2018 WI 44

Focus: Abuse of Discretion – Expert Testimony

This is a review of an unpublished, unauthored summary affirmance of the court of appeals, State v. Jones, No. 2015AP2665, unpublished order (Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 10, 2017), affirming the Dane County circuit court’s judgment finding Anthony Jones (“Jones”) to be a “sexually violent person” under Wis. Stat. § 980.02(1)(a) (2015-16).

On November 29, 1993, Jones was convicted of three counts of second-degree sexual assault, use of force, under Wis. Stat. § 940.225(2)(a), and was scheduled to be released from custody on August 15, 2013. On August 9, 2013, the State filed a petition to commit Jones as a sexually violent person, pursuant to Wis. Stat. ch. 980. Prior to the commitment trial, Jones filed a motion in limine to exclude testimony pertaining to the Minnesota Sex Offender Screening Tool-Revised (“MnSOST-R”) and the Rapid Risk Assessment for Sexual Offense Recidivism (“RRASOR”),3 which are actuarial instruments designed to measure an offender’s risk of reoffending. He argued that testimony as to the results produced by these instruments was not admissible under Wis. Stat. § 907.02 because it was not based on sufficient facts or data, was not the product of reliable principles and methods, and was not reliably applied to the facts of his case. The circuit court denied the motion, finding that such testimony was admissible. After a four-day trial, the jury found that Jones was “a sexually violent person, as alleged in the petition.” Jones appealed.

The court of appeals affirmed. It held that the circuit court had not erroneously exercised its discretion in admitting the testimony because the circuit court applied the proper standard and found that the instruments were the product of sufficient facts or data, that the instruments were the product of reliable principles and methods, and that the instruments had been the subject of extensive review. The court of appeals further noted that Jones’ arguments went to weight, not admissibility, and that, therefore, he had had the opportunity to discredit the testimony through cross-examination. Jones petitioned for review.

We consider one issue on review: whether the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion under Wis. Stat. § 907.02(1) when it admitted expert testimony based on the results of the MnSOST-R and the RRASOR tests. We conclude that the circuit court did not erroneously exercise its discretion because it evaluated the relevant facts under the proper standard and articulated a reasonable basis for its decision. Thus, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Affirmed

Concur: R.G. BRADLEY, J., concurs, joined by ABRAHAMSON, J., and KELLY, J. (opinion filed).

Dissent:

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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.