STATE DOC v. Schwarz

• Decision Date: 24 March 2005
• Docket Number: No. 03-2001.,03-2001.
• Citation: 693 N.W.2d 703,2005 WI 34,279 Wis.2d 223
• Parties: STATE OF WISCONSIN — DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Petitioner-Respondent-Petitioner, v. David H. SCHWARZ, Administrator, Division of Hearings and Appeals, Respondent, James DOWELL, Respondent-Appellant.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

279 Wis.2d 223

2005 WI 34

693 N.W.2d 703

STATE OF WISCONSIN — DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Petitioner-Respondent-Petitioner, v. David H. SCHWARZ, Administrator, Division of Hearings and Appeals, Respondent, James DOWELL, Respondent-Appellant.

No. 03-2001.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Oral Argument February 3, 2005.

Decided March 24, 2005.

For the petitioner-respondent-petitioner there were briefs by Robert G. Pultz, Madison, and oral argument by Robert G. Pultz.

For the respondent-appellant there was a brief and oral argument by Michael K. Gould, assistant state public defender.

¶ 1. N. PATRICK CROOKS, J

The Department of Corrections (DOC) seeks review of a published decision of the court of appeals, DOC v. Schwarz, 2004 WI App 136, 275 Wis. 2d 225, 685 N.W.2d 585, which reversed an order of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Timothy G. Dugan, Judge. The circuit court had reversed a decision from the Division of Hearings and Appeals (DHA) that held the DOC did not have jurisdiction under Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3)¹ (2001-02) to revoke the parole of Respondent James Dowell (Dowell). The issue presented on appeal is whether § 304.072(3) provides the DOC jurisdiction to revoke parole for any violation occurring between the offender's initial release on parole and the date of discharge on the underlying sentence, or whether its jurisdiction is limited to violations occurring during the offender's current period of parole.

¶ 2. We hold that the phrase "term of supervision" in Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) is ambiguous, since it can reasonably be interpreted to apply to both the current term of supervision and any time prior to the final discharge from an underlying sentence. We rely upon extrinsic sources such as the legislative history and relevant case law behind § 304.072(3), and the interplay among parole statutes to determine that the phrase "term of supervision" was intended to apply to all parole violations that occur before the offender's date of discharge from his or her entire sentence. We conclude that the legislature intended to promote offender accountability and, therefore, the DOC had jurisdiction to revoke Dowell's parole for a violation that he committed during his first period of parole supervision.

I

¶ 3. The relevant facts of this case are not in dispute. On March 30, 1994, Dowell was convicted of two counts of armed robbery and one count of operating a vehicle without owner's consent in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Judge Maxine A. White sentenced him to 90 months in Wisconsin State Prisons.² After serving nearly three years of his sentence, Dowell was paroled in May 1997. However, the DOC revoked his parole in March 1998 and returned him to prison.

¶ 4. Dowell served three more years in prison and was paroled again on July, 17, 2001, due to Wisconsin's mandatory release law, Wis. Stat. § 302.11(1).³ Subsequently, while Dowell was on parole, the DOC became aware of evidence that Dowell's DNA matched semen found on the clothing of a victim of a sexual assault and armed robbery that had been committed on May 23, 1997, during Dowell's first of two periods of parole. The DOC was unaware of information linking Dowell to these crimes when it recommended a revocation of Dowell's first parole in March 1998. Based on the new allegations, the DOC sought to revoke Dowell's second parole and force him to serve the final two years, one month, and 14 days of his sentence in prison.⁴

¶ 5. After a revocation hearing on June 18, 2002, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Andrew Riedmaier, ruled that the DOC lacked jurisdiction to revoke parole based on conduct committed during an earlier parole term. He concluded that any subsequent parole is a new and distinct "term of supervision." The ALJ relied on Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3), which limits the DOC's jurisdiction to actions taken prior to the expiration of the parolee's "term of supervision." The ALJ determined that since the second revocation request was not during the same "term of supervision" as the alleged violation, the DOC did not have jurisdiction.

¶ 6. The DOC appealed this ruling to the Administrator of the DHA, David H. Schwarz (Schwarz). Schwarz affirmed the ALJ's decision and agreed with the interpretation of Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3), that the DOC's jurisdiction applies only to the current term of supervision, not a subsequent term of supervision. Moreover, Schwarz held that the ALJ's decision was consistent with the DOC's past practices, as the Department has never sought to revoke any person's parole supervision based on conduct that occurred during a previous term of parole.

¶ 7. The DOC petitioned for certiorari review in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. On May 2, 2003, the circuit court, Timothy G. Dugan, Judge, reversed the decision of the DHA. The court held that the phrase "term of supervision" in Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) could reasonably be interpreted to mean a prisoner's entire sentence. The court concluded that the purpose of the statute was to codify State ex rel. Cox v. DHSS, 105 Wis. 2d 378, 314 N.W.2d 148 (Ct. App. 1981), by extending the DOC's jurisdiction beyond a parolee's final date of discharge, when revocation proceedings are commenced before the discharge date. Accordingly, the court held that the jurisdiction of the DOC exists until the parolee's final discharge from his or her entire sentence. The court read § 304.072(3) in conjunction with Wis. Stat. § 304.06(3) and other statutes governing parole supervision. The DHA appealed.

¶ 8. The court of appeals reversed the circuit court in a split decision. It concluded that Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) unambiguously limits the DOC to pursuing parole revocation for violations committed during a parolee's current parole term of supervision. Judge Patricia S. Curley, writing for the majority, determined that the phrase "term of supervision" in § 304.072(3) means the current term of supervision. Unlike the circuit court, the court of appeals did not consider extrinsic sources when interpreting § 304.072(3), because it found the plain language unambiguous. Schwarz, 275 Wis. 2d 225, ¶ 11. The court also cited policy concerns to justify the limitation of the DOC's jurisdiction. It held that violations from prior periods of parole would be hard to prove and difficult to defend against, and that serious violations committed during an earlier parole period could be addressed through new criminal charges. Id., ¶ 16.

¶ 9. In dissent, Judge Charles B. Schudson found the phrase "term of supervision" in Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) ambiguous, because reasonable, well-informed State officials could not agree on its meaning. Judge Schudson relied on extrinsic sources such as apparent legislative intent, case law, and the interplay of statutes, to determine that the phrase "term of supervision" encompasses an individual's entire sentence. He specifically noted that the apparent legislative intent behind § 304.072(3) and the provision's interplay with other parole statutes, specifically Wis. Stat. §§ 302.11(6) and (7)(d), make clear that the court of appeals erroneously interpreted the statute. Id., ¶¶ 19-20 (Schudson, J., dissenting).

¶ 10. The DOC petitioned for review of the decision of the court of appeals. We accepted review, and we now reverse.

II

[1]

¶ 11. This case turns on whether the phrase "term of supervision" within Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) allows the DOC to retain jurisdiction over a prisoner's entire sentence. This issue of statutory interpretation presents a question of law, which we review de novo, independently of the reasoning of the circuit court and court of appeals, but benefiting from their analyses. See State v. Lombard, 2004 WI 95, ¶ 17, 273 Wis. 2d 538, 684 N.W.2d 103.

[2, 3]

¶ 12. The purpose of statutory interpretation is to "determine what the statute means so that it may be given its full, proper, and intended effect." State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court, 2004 WI 58, ¶ 44, 271 Wis. 2d 633, 681 N.W.2d 110. "`We assume that the legislature's intent is expressed in the statutory language.'" Lombard, 273 Wis. 2d 538, ¶ 18 (quoting Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶ 44).

[4, 5]

¶ 13. Accordingly, our analysis of Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) should begin with its plain language. Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶ 45. If we determine that the language of the statute "`yields a plain, clear statutory meaning, then there is no ambiguity, and the statute is applied according to this ascertainment of its meaning.'" Id., ¶ 46 (quoting Bruno v. Milwaukee County, 2003 WI 28, ¶ 8, 260 Wis. 2d 633, 660 N.W.2d 656). Where such statutory language is unambiguous, we need not consider extrinsic sources of interpretation. See Meriter Hosp. Inc. v. Dane County, 2004 WI 145, ¶ 13, 277 Wis. 2d 1, 689 N.W.2d 627; see also Kalal, 271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶ 46.

[6-8]

¶ 14. Conversely, if the statute "is capable of being understood by reasonably well-informed persons in two or more senses," then the statute is ambiguous. Kalal,271 Wis. 2d 633, ¶ 47. Only when the statutory language is ambiguous may we consult extrinsic sources to ascertain legislative intent. Id., ¶ 51. "By `extrinsic sources' we mean interpretive resources outside the statutory text—typically items of legislative history." Id., ¶ 50 (citation omitted). Additionally, in certain circumstances, "[a]mbiguity can be found in the words of the statutory provision itself, or by the words of the provision as they interact with and relate to other provisions in the statute and to other statutes." State v. Sweat, 208 Wis. 2d 409, 416, 561 N.W.2d 695 (1997) (citation omitted).

[9-13]

¶ 15. This case also requires us to review an administrative agency decision. We must decide whether the DHA properly interpreted Wis. Stat. § 304.072(3) as a matter of law, and we are not bound by its determination. See Dodgeland Educ. Ass'n v. WERC, 2002 WI 22, ¶ 22, 250 Wis. 2d 357, 639 N.W.2d 733. Frequently, we defer to an administrative agency's interpretation of a statute,...