Plea Withdrawal

Listen to this article

WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Kasey Ann Gomolla

Case No.: 2022AP000199-CR

Officials: Stark, P.J.

Focus: Plea Withdrawal

Gomolla appeals from a judgment, entered upon her no-contest plea, convicting her of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine (more than 50 grams) and from the circuit court’s order denying her postconviction motion for plea withdrawal. As part of the plea agreement in this case, the State agreed to remove a second or subsequent offense enhancer from the charged crime, which reduced Gomolla’s potential punishment from forty-six years to forty years. However, defense counsel overlooked that fact in preparing Gomolla’s plea questionnaire and in discussions with Gomolla prior to entry of her plea, and Gomolla was incorrectly informed by counsel that she was subject to a potential punishment of forty-six years. During the plea colloquy, the court did not correct the error, as it failed to address the potential punishment at all beyond confirming that Gomolla had reviewed the plea questionnaire that overstated Gomolla’s potential punishment by six years.

Gomolla argues before this court that she is entitled to withdraw her no-contest plea because the circuit court failed to advise her of the maximum statutory penalty she faced during the plea colloquy, which constitutes a plea colloquy defect. She further claims that because defense counsel misinformed her of the potential punishment, she was unaware of the true penalty she faced; therefore, her plea was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.

Affirmed.

Decided 02/06/24

Full Text