On Point: 31. Probation/ES

State of Wisconsin ex rel. Christopher P. Kawleski v. State, 2022AP1129, 7/3/25, District IV, (recommended for publication); case activity

COA recommends publication in a case addressing how to calculate the maximum discharge date for a defendant sentenced to a bifurcated sentence on a felony between 1999 and 2003 upon release from reconfinement after extended supervision was revoked.

State ex rel. Wis. Dep’t of Corrs., Div. of Cmty. Corrs. v. Hayes, 2023AP1140, petition for review of a per curiam court of appeals decision, granted 11/12/24; affirmed 7/3/25; case activity (including briefs)

The Division of Hearings and Appeals decided not to revoke Sellers’s probation. DOC, on writ of certiorari to the circuit court, prevailed, and DHA appealed. On appeal, DHA and Sellers asked the COA to affirm DHA’s original decision not to revoke Sellers’s probation. The COA agreed with DHA and Sellers, reversing the circuit court’s order and affirming DHA’s decision not to revoke Sellers’s probation. DOC petitioned for review.

State v. Thatcher R. Sehrbrock, 2022AP2153-CR, 8/8/24, District IV (authored); case activity

Sehrbrock, convicted of robbery with use of force as PTAC, appeals the judgment of conviction and order denying his postconviction motion in which he challenged a condition of probation requiring that an ignition interlock device be installed on any motor vehicle that he owns or operates. He argued that the IID condition was unreasonable and its term was harsh and excessive. The COA affirms in a 2-1 decision.

Artillis Mitchell v. Chris S. Buesgen & Kevin A. Carr, 2022AP1076, 2/22/24, District 4 (recommended for publication); case activity

This case concerns Mitchell’s appeal from the circuit court’s order dismissing his petition for a writ of certiorari. We recognize the case is a bit outside of our normal coverage, but in addition to the fact that D4 has recommended this decision for publication, the case presents an interesting, if somewhat technical, application of law to a factual scenario that is likely of some interest to our readers. The bottom line is that the denial of Mitchell’s petition is affirmed, despite the fact that he indisputably filed proof that he fully exhausted all available administrative remedies, because he failed to file “all documents related to the administrative process.” Op., ¶33-34.

State v. Theodore J. Polczynski, 2023AP900, 1/3/24, District 2 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

COA upholds the circuit court’s order barring Polczynski from owning a business or operating as a general contractor as conditions of probation by finding they are reasonable and appropriate under the facts of this case.

State v. Junior L. Williams-Holmes, 2023 WI 49, 6/20/23, reversing and remanding a published court of appeals decision; case activity (including briefs)

Reaffirming that the Department of Corrections, not the circuit court, is responsible for regulating the day-to-day affairs of persons being supervised by DOC, the supreme court sends this case back to the circuit court for it to either modify the supervision condition it ordered in this case or clarify how it is consistent with the law.

State v. Junior L. Williams-Holmes, petition for review of a published court of appeals decision granted 11/16/22; case activity (including PFR, PFR response, and briefs)

Issue presented (from the defendant’s PFR)

Can a circuit court use its statutory authority to modify conditions of probation and extended supervision to regulate the day-to-day affairs of individuals on supervision, contrary to statutes conferring on the Department of Corrections the exclusive authority to administer probation?

State v. Junior L. Williams-Holmes, 2022 WI App 38, petition for review granted, 11/16/22, reversed and remanded, 2023 WI 49; case activity (including briefs)

Williams-Holmes was given a bifurcated prison sentence and consecutive probation after being convicted of battery to and false imprisonment of his girlfriend. Because of Williams-Holmes’s history of domestic violence, the circuit court ordered, as a condition of probation and extended supervision, that Williams-Holmes not reside with any member of the opposite sex or any child not related to him by blood “without permission of the Court.” (¶1). Williams-Holmes argues the circuit court’s condition is improper because it results in the court “administering” probation, which is a task reserved for the Department of Corrections. The court of appeals disagrees, holding that the circuit court may impose this condition—though it must implement it using the statutory process for modifying conditions of supervision.

State v. Kimberly L. Howell, 2021AP1865-CR, 6/8/22, District 2 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

Howell served as guardian for five children, four of whom were her grandkids. The fifth, 11 year old S.G., has special needs.  Howell pled no contest to child neglect and domestic abuse due to her mistreatment of S.G. The circuit court gave her two years of probation during which she could not serve as a guardian for any child, including her grandson, J.R., who has autism. On appeal, Howell argued that this condition of probation was (1) overly broad and unconstitutional and (2) unreasonable and inappropriate.

State v. Michael Nelson, 2021AP1133-CR, 3/9/22, District 2 (1-judge opinion, ineligible for publication); case activity

Nelson, who values his right to bear arms, pled guilty to several crimes, including disorderly conduct and domestic violence.  As a condition of his probation, he was barred from possessing firearms. Postconviction, he claimed that his trial lawyer incorrectly advised him that “pleading to disorderly conduct could result in a temporary rather than permanent loss of his gun rights” and that the trial court erred in denying him a hearing on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim.