Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Listen to this article

WI Court of Appeals – District III

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Anthony Ryan Holden

Case No.: 2023AP000343-CR

Officials: Stark, P.J., Hruz and Gill, JJ.

Focus: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Holden appeals a judgment, entered upon his no-contest plea, convicting him of possession of methamphetamine, as a party to the crime. Holden also appeals an order denying his postconviction motion for plea withdrawal. Holden contends that he should be permitted to withdraw his no-contest plea for two reasons: (1) his trial attorney was constitutionally ineffective by failing to file a suppression motion; and (2) due to defects in the plea colloquy, his plea was not knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.

The court rejected Holden’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel arguing that his attorney was ineffective for not filing a motion to suppress evidence obtained during his arrest. There was probable cause for Holden’s arrest. Investigator Eduardo Hernandez had arranged to buy methamphetamine from a co-defendant, who identified Holden as her accomplice. Hernandez’s observations and the circumstances led to a reasonable belief that Holden was involved in the crime. Since a suppression motion would have been denied, the attorney’s performance was not deficient.

Holden argued that the court failed to explain the nature of the crime and the implications of party to a crime liability. The court found that this explanation was unnecessary because Holden directly committed the crime of methamphetamine possession. Furthermore, Holden’s postconviction motion failed to allege that he did not understand the party to a crime concept.

Finally, the court found that Holden understood he was pleading to a felony. During the plea hearing, the prosecutor and the court repeatedly referred to the charge as a felony, and Holden acknowledged this understanding. The court also found Holden’s claim that he believed he was pleading to a misdemeanor to be incredible, based on the evidence and testimony.

Affirmed.

Decided 05/14/24

Full Text