COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND FILED February 10, 2009 David
R. Schanker Clerk of Court of Appeals |
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NOTICE |
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This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. A party may file with the Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of Appeals. See Wis. Stat. § 808.10 and Rule 809.62. |
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Appeal No. |
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STATE OF WISCONSIN |
IN COURT OF APPEALS |
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DISTRICT III |
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State of
Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Douglas B. Baker,
Defendant-Appellant. |
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APPEAL
from an order of the circuit court for
Before
¶1 PER CURIAM. Douglas Baker, pro se, appeals from an order denying sentence credit. We conclude that during the time period for which he seeks credit, Baker was in custody serving a sentence that had no connection with the sentence in this case. We therefore affirm the order.
¶2 On December 19, 2006, Baker was arrested and subsequently charged
with substantial battery, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor battery. Baker was accused of grabbing a woman by the
throat and throwing her to the ground while leaving a bar in
¶3 Baker was on probation at the time for an unrelated burglary case. Probation was revoked and Baker began serving a sentence in that case on February 2, 2007. State v. Baker, Eau Claire County case No. 1994CF122.
¶4 On October 2, 2007, the circuit court sentenced Baker in the present case to eighteen months’ initial confinement and two years’ extended supervision. The court did not initially award sentence credit. Baker thereafter apparently wrote the circuit court a letter requesting 289 days of sentence credit. The circuit court awarded forty-five days of credit, pursuant to calculations the State submitted, which represented the time period from custody up to the date of the probation revocation sentence. Baker then requested 244 days of additional credit. Baker now appeals from the order denying that request for credit.
¶5 At issue is whether Baker is entitled to sentence credit in
this case for the days spent in custody from the February 2 revocation sentence
to the date he began serving the sentence on the substantial battery conviction,
October 2, 2007. The application of the
sentence credit statute, Wis. Stat. § 973.155,[1]
to undisputed facts presents a question of law that we review
independently.
¶6
Sentence credit. (1)(a) A convicted offender shall be given credit toward the service of his or her sentence for all days spent in custody in connection with the course of conduct for which sentence was imposed. As used in this subsection, “actual days spent in custody” includes, without limitation by enumeration, confinement related to an offense for which the offender is ultimately sentenced, or for any other sentence arising out of the same conduct, which occurs:
1. While the offender is awaiting trial;
2. While
the offender is being tried; and
3. While
the offender is awaiting imposition of sentence after trial.
¶7 The statute entitles a defendant to credit for pre-sentence custody
that “is connected to the course of conduct for which the sentence [is]
imposed.” Tuescher, 226
¶8 We conclude this case is controlled by State v. Beets, 124
¶9 Here, Baker began serving his sentence following the probation revocation on February 2, 2007. Baker was sentenced for substantial battery on October 2, 2007. Baker was not entitled to credit toward his new crime for days spent in custody following probation revocation because the sentences did not arise out of the same “course of conduct.” From the date of the revocation sentencing until he began serving the sentence on his new conviction, he was in custody by reason of his probation revocation. When Baker began serving his burglary sentence following probation revocation, any connection to the substantial battery proceedings was severed. Baker was therefore correctly credited time only for the forty-five days spent in custody between December 19, 2006, and the date of his probation revocation sentence, February 2, 2007. See id. at 383.
¶10 Baker suggests this case is controlled by State v. Gilbert, 115
¶11 Baker also relies on State v. Boettcher, 144
¶12 Baker misinterprets the holding in State v. Rohl, 160
¶13 We are similarly unpersuaded by Baker’s contention this case is
governed by State v. Ward, 153
¶14 Accordingly, we affirm the order denying Baker sentence credit for the period from the date of the sentencing following his probation revocation up to the date he began serving the sentence on the substantial battery conviction.
By the Court.—Order affirmed.
This opinion will not be
published. See Wis. Stat. Rule 809.23(1)(b)5.
[1] Reference to Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2007-08 version unless otherwise noted.
[2] Ward
was clarified in State v. Johnson, 2008 WI App 34, 307