Postconviction Relief – Right to Present a Defense

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Bruce Terrell Davis

Case No.: 2020AP1051-CR

Officials: Donald, P.J., Dugan and White, JJ.

Focus: Postconviction Relief – Right to Present a Defense

Bruce Terrell Davis appeals from a judgment of conviction for one count of robbery and three counts of burglary, and an order of the circuit court denying his motion for postconviction relief. On appeal, he argues that the circuit court’s credibility determinations from the hearing on his postconviction motion were clearly erroneous and, thus, the circuit court erred in denying his motion. He also argues that the circuit court erred when it found that his right to present a defense was not violated when the trial court removed photos from the manila folders used for conducting the photo array that Oliver viewed, and sent the loose photos to the jury room during deliberations.

We conclude that the circuit court’s credibility determinations are not clearly erroneous. Thus, we uphold the circuit court’s denial of Davis’s motion. We further conclude that the trial court’s decision to provide the jury with loose photographs did not violate Davis’s right to present a defense because the manila folders accompanying those photos were not essential to his defense. Accordingly, we affirm.

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.