State v. Lira
| Decision Date | 18 November 2021 |
| Docket Number | 2019AP691-CR,2019AP692-CR |
| Parties | State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent-Petitioner, v. Cesar Antonio Lira, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS: ORAL ARGUMENT: September 27, 2021
Circuit Court Milwaukee County, Frederick C. Rosa, Judge
REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals.
For the plaintiff-respondent-petitioner, there were briefs filed by Jacob J. Wittwer, assistant attorney general; with whom on the briefs was Joshua L. Kaul, attorney general. There was an oral argument by Jacob J. Wittwer.
For the defendant-appellant, there was a brief filed by Christopher P. August, assistant state public defender. There was an oral argument by Christopher P. August.
¶1 This is a review of an unpublished decision of the court of appeals, State v. Lira, Nos. 2019AP691-CR & 2019AP692-CR, unpublished slip op. (Wis. Ct. App. Sep. 29 2020), affirming in part and reversing in part the Milwaukee County circuit court's[1] order denying Cesar Antonio Lira's motion for sentence credit.
¶2 Lira argues that he is entitled to sentence credit against his 1992 and 1999 sentences for time he spent incarcerated in Oklahoma between 2006 and 2017. According to Lira, he was "made available" to Oklahoma and, under Wis.Stat § 973.15(5) (2017-18), [2] he is entitled to credit for time served. In addition, Lira claims that under Wis.Stat. §§ 304.072(5)[3] and 973.155, [4] he must receive credit for time he spent detained in Wisconsin and Texas from 2005 to 2006.
¶3 Both Wis.Stat. §§ 973.15(5) and 304.072(5) incorporate Wisconsin's foundational sentence-credit statute, Wis.Stat. § 973.155, and under § 973.155, Lira is not entitled to credit. Neither his incarceration in Oklahoma between 2006 and 2017 nor his detention in Wisconsin and Texas between 2005 and 2006 were "in connection with the course of conduct for which [the 1992 and 1999 sentences were] imposed." § 973.155(1)(a). Thus, we reverse the court of appeals and conclude that Lira is not entitled to sentence credit.
¶4 Over the course of 13 years, Lira transited thousands of miles while fleeing government authorities and committed seven separate offenses in two states. The facts, as shown by the record and agreed upon by the parties, are stated below.
¶5 In July 1992, the Milwaukee County circuit court sentenced Lira to 10 years' imprisonment for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, and he was released on parole in September 1996. Over two years later, in January 1999, Lira was arrested on separate charges. According to the 1999 criminal complaint, Lira was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, conspiring to deliver cocaine, obstructing or resisting an officer, and possessing with intent to distribute tetrahydrocannabinols. Lira's parole supervision in the 1992 case was revoked as a result of the 1999 charges.
¶6 Lira pleaded guilty in May 1999 to being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiring to distribute cocaine. In December 1999, the Milwaukee County circuit court sentenced Lira to two years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. For the conspiracy charge, the court imposed and stayed a sentence of 16 years imprisonment and placed Lira on probation for 12 years concurrent with his incarceration. In January 2001, Lira was released from prison and was placed on court-ordered supervision for both the 1992 and 1999 cases--parole for the 1992 case and probation for the 1999 case.
¶7 As a condition of his release, Lira was required to report regularly to a Department of Corrections ("DOC") agent overseeing his supervision. In November 2002, the DOC agent attempted to take Lira into custody for alleged violations of his conditions of release, namely, traveling to Illinois without the agent's permission and possessing $55, 000 in cash. In response, Lira fled from the agent's office and escaped.
¶8 Lira's whereabouts remained unknown until January 6, 2004, when Lira was arrested by Wisconsin Department of Justice agents and was taken into custody. On January 9, 2004, parole and probation holds were placed on Lira for the 1992 and 1999 cases. Lira was also charged with endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon.
¶9 While being transported to a medical appointment on April 15, 2004, Lira fled officers and escaped in an awaiting vehicle with his girlfriend. As a result, Lira was charged with escape. The next day, on April 16, 2004, Lira's parole and probation were revoked. The stay of the 16-year sentence in the 1999 case was removed, and Lira's reconfinement for the 1992 case was ordered.
¶10 Meanwhile, Lira was driving with his girlfriend and her child to Oklahoma. Once in Oklahoma, on April 16, 2004, Lira initiated a high-speed car chase with police. Lira ran a road block and crashed the vehicle he was driving. His girlfriend died as a result of the collision. That same day, Oklahoma police arrested Lira. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, eluding police, running a roadblock, and child abuse/neglect. On September 29, 2004, a court in Creek County, Oklahoma, sentenced Lira to 20 years' imprisonment for his offenses.
¶11 On or about May 22, 2005, [5] Oklahoma transferred Lira to Wisconsin on detainer to face his 2004 charges of endangering safety and escape. On June 15, 2005, Lira was released by mistake.[6]Again, Lira fled south, and on December 13, 2005, he was arrested in San Antonio, Texas. Wisconsin filed a new charge of bail jumping against Lira, and Lira was returned to this state on January 11, 2006.
¶12 On March 17, 2006, after entering into a global plea agreement on the 2004 charges of endangering safety and escape and the 2005 charge of bail jumping, the Milwaukee County circuit court sentenced Lira to three years of incarceration and three years of extended supervision, both to be served consecutive to his Oklahoma sentence. Pursuant to the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD"), entered into by both Oklahoma and Wisconsin, [7] Wisconsin returned Lira to Oklahoma on April 5, 2006, to complete the remainder of his Oklahoma sentence. Lira remained in Oklahoma until his sentence there was completed on June 9, 2017. He was soon thereafter transported to Wisconsin to complete his sentences for the 1992 and 1999 cases and the 2004 and 2005 cases. On June 16, 2017, he arrived in Wisconsin.
¶13 In September 2017, Lira filed a pro se motion for sentence credit against his sentences in the 1992 and 1999 cases. He argued that, under Wis.Stat. § 973.15(5), he was entitled to sentence credit for all the time he spent in custody in Oklahoma between April 16, 2004, when he was arrested for his Oklahoma offenses, and June 9, 2017, when his Oklahoma sentence was complete. The circuit court denied this request, citing lack of administrative exhaustion.
¶14 In January 2018, Lira filed a second pro se motion for sentence credit under Wis.Stat. § 973.15(5), this time with records documenting his attempts to exhaust administrative remedies with the DOC. The circuit court denied the motion on the merits, reasoning that the Oklahoma sentence was separate and distinct from the 1992 and 1999 cases, and that Lira had already received sentence credit in Oklahoma for the time spent in custody in that state. After obtaining appointed counsel, Lira appealed to the court of appeals. However, Lira voluntarily dismissed the appeal in favor of filing with advice of counsel a more complete motion for sentence credit with the circuit court. On July 27, 2018, the court of appeals dismissed Lira's appeal.
¶15 In October 2018, by appointed counsel, Lira filed a third motion for sentence credit. He again argued that under Wis.Stat. § 973.15(5), he was entitled to sentence credit for all the time spent in custody from April 16, 2004, to the end of his Oklahoma sentence on June 9, 2017. In addition, Lira claimed that, under Wis.Stat. §§ 973.15(5) and 304.072(4), he was entitled to credit for time spent in Wisconsin, Texas, and Oklahoma from May 22, 2005, when he was transferred to Wisconsin on detainer, to the completion of his Oklahoma sentence on June 9, 2017. Finally, Lira argued that he was entitled to credit for the time spent in Oklahoma custody between his arrest on April 16, 2004, and his sentencing in Oklahoma on September 29, 2004. On October 15, 2018, the circuit court denied the motion for lack of evidence and failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
¶16 In November 2018, Lira filed a motion for reconsideration, arguing that he in fact did request sentence credit from the DOC. Lira also provided additional documentation to assist in the circuit court's inquiry. On March 25, 2019, the circuit court denied the motion for reconsideration. The circuit court reasoned that under Wis.Stat. § 973.15(5), Lira was not "made available" to Oklahoma on April 16, 2004. Lira escaped custody and was arrested on separate Oklahoma charges. Thus, the circuit court denied his request for credit between April 16, 2004, and May 22, 2005. However, with regard to Lira's request for sentence credit between his return to Wisconsin on May 22, 2005, and the completion of his Oklahoma sentence on June 9, 2017, the circuit court determined that Lira had not properly presented the issue to the DOC and therefore did not address the merits. Lira appealed this decision, and on April 17, 2019, the court of appeals consolidated the 1992 and 1999 cases to facilitate their review.
¶17 On September 29, 2020, the court of appeals issued a decision affirming in part and reversing in part the circuit court's order. Lira, Nos. 2019AP691-CR & 2019AP692-CR. First, the court of appeals concluded that Lira properly...
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