Ineffective Assistance of Counsel-Juror Information

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WI Court of Appeals – District I

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Daniel D. Moore

Case No.: 2022AP000638-CR

Officials: Brash, C.J., Donald, P.J., and White, J.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel-Juror Information

Moore appeals a judgment convicting him of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and unlawfully possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony. He also appeals an order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Moore argues that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because his counsel did not object during voir dire when prospective jurors were primarily referred to by numbers rather than their names.

The primary concern with restricting juror information is that it may adversely affect a defendant’s right to the presumption of innocence because the jury may speculate as to the reason for the court order requiring anonymity and may conclude that the defendant is a bad or dangerous person. This concern does not exist here. Under the circumstances of this case, the circuit court did not advise or order the jury to keep their identities shielded from the defendant. To the contrary, the circuit court explicitly asked the jurors to state their names when answering questions. Most of the jurors simply failed to include all of the information that the circuit court had asked them to include when responding. There was no reason for trial counsel to object to the fact that many of the jurors were referred to by numbers because there was no court order requiring them to only use numbers and there was no concern that the jury would draw any adverse inference about the defendant.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/11/23

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