State v. Eesley

• Decision Date: 30 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 97-1839-CR,97-1839-CR
• Parties: STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Danny C. EESLEY, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Page 846

591 N.W.2d 846

225 Wis.2d 248

STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Danny C. EESLEY, Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.

No. 97-1839-CR.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Argued Jan. 8, 1999.

Decided April 30, 1999.

For the defendant-appellant-petitioner there was a brief by Kyle H. Torvinen and Hendricks, Knudson, Gee, Hayden & Torvinen, S.C., Superior and oral argument by Kyle H. Torvinen.

For the plaintiff-respondent the cause was argued by Michael R. Klos, assistant attorney general, with whom on the brief was James E. Doyle, attorney general.

¶1 WILLIAM A. BABLITCH, J

Petitioner, Danny C. Eesley (Eesley), requests review of a court of appeals' decision that affirmed his conviction. Eesley, urging a dismissal of the charges, argues that a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum used to deliver him to Wisconsin, was a detainer within the meaning of the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD" or "Agreement"). Therefore, he argues, according to the provisions of the IAD the failure to bring him to trial within 120 days of his arrival in Wisconsin results in mandatory dismissal of the Wisconsin charges. Because we conclude that a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum is not a detainer, the IAD was not triggered, and Eesley is not afforded the protections of the IAD. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

¶2 The facts pertinent to this appeal are limited, and for purposes of this appeal, are conceded. While Eesley was serving a federal prison sentence at the Federal Correctional Institute in Sandstone, Minnesota (FCI, Sandstone), he was charged with a total of 12 separate state offenses in the State of Wisconsin (State). Nine of the charges were filed in Ashland County and three charges were filed in neighboring Bayfield County. By stipulation, all charges were prosecuted in Ashland County.

¶3 On January 5, 1996, a State of Wisconsin Special Prosecutor filed a petition and writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum addressed to the circuit court. The petition stated that Eesley was "scheduled to appear for initial appearances on felony charges as shown in the attached criminal complaints in the above cases on January 26, 1996 at 9:30 A.M. in the Circuit Court for Ashland County, Wisconsin, before the Honorable Norman L. Yackel, Acting Circuit Judge...."

¶4 Judge Yackel granted the petition and signed the writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum which was directed to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The writ "commanded" that the Bureau of Prisons deliver Eesley to a member of the Ashland County Sheriff's Department on January 25, 1996, so that he could appear "in the above-titled action" on January 26, 1996. The writ also indicated that the Ashland County Sheriff's Department would return Eesley immediately after the proceeding unless otherwise ordered by the court.

¶5 The federal prison warden at the FCI, Sandstone delivered Eesley to the Ashland County Sheriff as requested by the writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum. Eesley made his initial appearance on January 26, 1996, on 11 of 12 charges. (One of the Ashland County charges was not filed against Eesley until March 7, 1996.) After the initial appearance, Eesley was returned to the FCI, Sandstone.

¶6 On May 9, 1996, again pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum issued by the Ashland County Circuit Court, Eesley was transferred from the FCI, Sandstone to the custody of the Ashland County Sheriff, for a preliminary hearing to be held on May 10, 1996. Eesley was also served with the original complaint regarding the twelfth charge that had been filed in Ashland County, and the court conducted the preliminary hearing on that charge as well. Following the preliminary hearing, Eesley was again transported back to the FCI, Sandstone.

¶7 On June 4, 1996, again pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, Eesley was transported from FCI, Sandstone to the Ashland County Circuit Court to appear for arraignments scheduled for June 5, 1996. Following the arraignments, Eesley was transported back to the FCI, Sandstone. At no time at his initial appearance, preliminary hearing, or arraignments, was the IAD, Wis. Stat. § 976.05 (1993-94), ¹ mentioned by any of the parties.

¶8 On July 10, 1996, Eesley filed a motion to dismiss all state charges pending against him on the grounds that the State had violated the IAD. The IAD requires that after a detainer is filed against a prisoner in another jurisdiction a trial must be held within 120 days of the arrival of the prisoner in the state in which trial is to be had on untried indictments, informations or complaints--the "speedy trial" provision. After a detainer has been filed and a prisoner transferred to a different state for prosecution, the IAD forbids returning the prisoner to the "sending" state until the trial is conducted--the "anti-shuttling" provision.

¶9 The sanction for noncompliance with the provisions of the IAD is dismissal of the pending charges with prejudice. Eesley alleged that the speedy trial and anti-shuttling provisions had been violated. He argued that a trial had not been held within 120 days of Eesley's arrival in Ashland County for his initial appearance on January 26, 1996, and he had been transported back to the FCI, Sandstone before the trial was completed. Therefore, Eesley argued, the IAD was violated and the criminal charges pending against him should be dismissed.

¶10 The circuit court denied Eesley's motion for dismissal. Reserving all rights to appeal the circuit court's decision denying his motion, Eesley then entered into a plea agreement on all 12 state charges. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he was convicted of two counts of armed burglary and one count of arson. Again, by writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, Eesley was transferred from the FCI, Sandstone to appear for a plea and sentencing hearing, scheduled for December 13, 1996. The circuit court imposed a sentence for these three counts to run consecutively to other sentences already imposed against Eesley.

¶11 Eesley appealed his convictions, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying his motion to dismiss based on violations of the IAD. The court of appeals affirmed the convictions, reasoning that the writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum used to obtain Eesley's custody for prosecution of the state charges was not a detainer within the meaning of the IAD. Therefore, the court of appeals reasoned, the IAD was not triggered and the protections afforded by the Agreement were not available to Eesley. This court granted Eesley's petition for review.

¶12 The issue presented by this case is whether a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum constitutes a detainer under the IAD. If it does, the IAD is triggered, and the State must comply with the speedy trial and anti-shuttling provisions of the Agreement. If a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum does not constitute a detainer, the IAD is not triggered.

¶13 Whether a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum constitutes a detainer under the IAD and thereby triggers the IAD and its protections requires that we interpret the IAD, Wis. Stat. § 976.05. This is a question of law that we review de novo. State v. Sostre, 198 Wis.2d 409, 414, 542 N.W.2d 774 (1996). The goal of statutory interpretation is to discern the intent of the legislature. Id. We begin by looking at the plain language of the statute. State ex rel. Reimann v. Circuit Court for Dane Cty., 214 Wis.2d 605, 613, 571 N.W.2d 385 (1997). If the plain language does not set forth the legislature's intent, we may look to the history, scope, context, subject matter, and object of the statute. Id. at 614, 571 N.W.2d 385.

¶14 The IAD was enacted by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1969, currently found at Wis. Stat. § 976.05. See § 63, ch. 255, Laws of 1969. The IAD prescribes "procedures by which a member State may obtain for trial a prisoner incarcerated in another member jurisdiction and by which the prisoner may demand the speedy disposition of certain charges pending against him in another jurisdiction." United States v. Mauro, 436 U.S. 340, 343, 98 S.Ct. 1834, 56 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978). The IAD defines the "receiving state" as the state in which the trial on the indictment, information or complaint is to be conducted. § 976.05(2)(a). The "sending state" is the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated when he or she initiates disposition of untried offenses or when a prosecutor initiates a request for custody or availability of the prisoner. § 976.05(2)(b). For purposes of the IAD, the federal government is considered a state. § 976.05(2)(c).

¶15 The central provisions of the IAD are Articles III and IV, enacted in Wisconsin as Wis. Stat. § 976.05(3) and (4). Generally, Article III, § 976.05(3) (reprinted in part below), ^{2 2} provides procedures whereby a prisoner against whom a detainer has been lodged, can demand a speedy disposition of the charges. Mauro, 436 U.S. at 351, 98 S.Ct. 1834. When a detainer is filed against a prisoner, the warden must promptly inform the prisoner of such detainer and of his or her right to demand disposition. Id.; § 976.05(3)(c). If the prisoner makes such a request, the trial must commence within 180 days of the request. § 976.05(3)(a). If the receiving state fails to have a trial on the outstanding indictment, information or complaint within the prescribed time period and before the prisoner is transported back to the original place of imprisonment, the court is required to dismiss such charges with prejudice. § 976.05(3)(d).

¶16 Article IV, Wis. Stat. § 976.05(4) (reprinted below), ³ provides the procedures whereby a prosecutor in the receiving state lodges a detainer against a prisoner in a sending state and secures the prisoner's presence for disposition of the charges. Mauro, 436 U.S. at 351, 98 S.Ct. 1834; § 976.05(4). Once a prosecutor has filed a detainer against a prisoner in another jurisdiction, he or she may secure the prisoner's...