State v. Randall
| Decision Date | 10 May 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-0219-CR.,93-0219-CR. |
| Citation | 532 N.W.2d 94,192 Wis.2d 800 |
| Parties | STATE of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Alan A. RANDALL, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
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For the defendant-appellant there were briefs by James A. Walrath and Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Inc., Milwaukee and oral argument by James A. Walrath.
For the plaintiff-respondent the cause was argued by Sally L. Wellman, assistant attorney general, with whom on the brief was James E. Doyle, attorney general.
Amicus curiae brief was filed by Karen Kotecki and Kotecki & Radtke, S.C., Milwaukee for the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation and Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy.
This case is before the court on acceptance of certification by the court of appeals, pursuant to sec. (Rule) 809.61, Stats. The defendant, Alan A. Randall (Randall), appeals from a January 15, 1993, order of the circuit court for Waukesha County, Joseph E. Wimmer, Circuit Judge, denying his motions challenging the constitutionality of sec. 971.17(2), Stats., (1987-88).1 The state did not oppose the certification.
The single question certified by the court of appeals is:
(1) Does the Wisconsin statutory scheme, which allows the state to confine an insanity acquittee2 who is no longer mentally ill, solely on the grounds that the individual is a danger to himself, herself or others, violate the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution.
We hold that it is not a denial of due process for an insanity acquittee who has committed a criminal act to be confined in a state mental health facility for so long as he or she is considered dangerous, provided that the commitment does not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment which could have been imposed for the offense charged. We think the fact that an insanity acquittee has already been shown beyond a reasonable doubt to have committed at least one dangerous act justifies the disposition set forth by the legislature in sec. 971.17(2), Stats. Furthermore, we believe that our decision here is not inconsistent with the recent United States Supreme Court decision, Foucha v. Louisiana, 112 S.Ct. 1780 (1992). As we explain in detail below, we read Foucha to permit the continued confinement of dangerous but sane acquittees in a mental health facility, so long as they are treated in a manner consistent with the purposes of their commitment, e.g., there must be a medical justification to continue holding a sane but dangerous insanity acquittee in a mental health facility.
We recognize that the state of Wisconsin has a legitimate and compelling interest in protecting the community from those individuals who are a continuing threat to society and to themselves. It is apparent from the statutory scheme, that the legislature has determined that the inference of dangerousness drawn from a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity continues, even after a clinical finding of sanity. See Foucha v. Louisiana, 112 S.Ct. 1780 (1992).
The inference of continuing dangerousness provides the basis for the acquittee's initial commitment to a mental health facility following the insanity acquittal. Under Wisconsin's statutory scheme, the acquittee, once committed, is subject to treatment programs specifically designed to treat both mental and behavioral disorders. Treatment designed to reduce those behavioral disorders which render the individual dangerous may continue even after clinical signs of mental illness are no longer apparent. Such treatment is necessary to realize the ultimate goal of safely returning the acquittee into the community. Because this state's mental health facilities provide such comprehensive treatment we cannot conclude that it is punitive to continue an acquittee's confinement based on dangerousness alone. Rather, we conclude that there is a reasonable relationship between the commitment and the purposes for which the individual is committed and, therefore, that insanity acquittees are treated in a manner consistent with the purposes of their commitment. We therefore affirm the decision of the circuit court and remand the cause for further hearing in accordance with this decision.
Furthermore, unlike the Louisiana statutory scheme held unconstitutional in Foucha, supra, we find that the Wisconsin scheme provides sufficient procedural safeguards to insure an acquittee's right to due process. Under the Louisiana statutory scheme, an insanity acquittee could be held in a mental institution for an indefinite and unlimited duration until the acquittee could prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he or she was no longer dangerous.3 Under the Wisconsin procedure, the state, rather than the acquittee, bears the burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the commitment should continue because the individual is presently a danger to himself, herself or others. Moreover, commitment is not imposed for an indefinite period of time. Section 971.17(4), Stats., (1987-88) provides that the commitment may not exceed the maximum term of imprisonment which could have been imposed for the offenses charged.4 Once the maximum period of the sentence which could have been imposed has elapsed, the court must order the discharge of the insanity acquittee subject to the state's right to commence civil commitment proceedings under ch. 51. Id.
The facts and procedural history of this case are not in dispute. Defendant, Alan A. Randall, was charged in 1976 with three counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of burglary, and two counts of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. Several of these charges arose out of an incident in which Randall shot and killed two police officers and used their squad car to commit a burglary.
Initially, Randall entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to all twelve counts. Later, by stipulation and agreement of counsel, Randall withdrew his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to four counts of burglary.
As a result of joining a plea of not guilty with a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to eight counts, Randall was subject to sec. 971.165, Stats., (1987-88) which provides that the trial is a bifurcated proceeding. In the first phase the guilt or innocence of the defendant is determined. The burden of proof at this phase is on the state to prove all the elements of the offense charged, beyond a reasonable doubt. If a guilty verdict is returned, the issue at the second phase of the trial is whether the defendant may be relieved of responsibility for the criminal act because he or she suffered from a mental disease or defect at the time of the offense. The standard for finding mental disease or defect as set forth in sec. 971.15(1), Stats., provides:
A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacked substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or conform his conduct to the requirements of law.
Section 971.15(3) provides that "mental disease or defect excluding responsibility is an affirmative defense which the defendant must establish to a reasonable certainty by the greater weight of the credible evidence." According to sec. 971.165(2), if the plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect is tried to a jury, the verdict is not valid unless at least five sixths of the jurors agree.
At the first phase of the trial, the jury found Randall guilty of two counts of first degree murder, four counts of burglary and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. The jury found Randall not guilty of one count of first degree murder, two counts of burglary and one count of operating a motor vehicle without the owner's consent.5
In lieu of the second phase of the trial, the state entered into a stipulation on the record whereby it agreed that Randall was not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect of two counts of first-degree murder, one count of burglary and one count of operating a motor vehicle without consent. As a result of the stipulation Randall was committed to Central State Hospital on four charges, pursuant to sec. 971.17(1), Stats., (1987-88), which provides: "When a defendant is found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, the court shall order him to be committed to the department to be placed in an appropriate institution for custody, care and treatment until discharged as provided in this section."
As to the remaining four counts of burglary for which Randall was found guilty, he was sentenced on one count to a term of one thousand days in the Waukesha County Jail which had been satisfied by his incarceration from January 1975 to December 1977. On the remaining three counts, he was sentenced to three concurrent terms of ten years in the state prison, which sentences were stayed with the provision that the defendant be placed on probation for three, concurrent ten year terms. The probation was stayed until the defendant's release from the order committing him to Central State. Following the initial order of commit-ment, Randall was transferred to the Winnebago Mental Health Institute where he is presently confined.
On January 11, 1990, more than fifteen years after his conviction, Randall petitioned the circuit court, pursuant to sec. 971.17(2), Stats., (1987-88) for "Reexamination" of his present mental condition.6 The standard for release in sec. 971.17(2) (1987-88) provides:
if the court is satisfied that the defendant may be safely discharged or released without danger to himself or herself or to others, it shall order the discharge of the defendant or order his or her release on such conditions as the court determines to be necessary. If it is not so satisfied,...
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