COURT OF
APPEALS DECISION DATED AND
RELEASED January
30, 1996 |
NOTICE |
A party may file with the Supreme Court a petition to review an
adverse decision by the Court of Appeals.
See § 808.10 and Rule
809.62, Stats. |
This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound
volume of the Official Reports. |
No. 95‑3004‑CR‑NM
STATE OF WISCONSIN IN
COURT OF APPEALS
DISTRICT I
STATE
OF WISCONSIN,
Plaintiff‑Respondent,
v.
RAYMOND
T. GOLDEN,
Defendant‑Appellant.
APPEAL
from a judgment of the circuit court for Milwaukee County: JANINE P. GESKE, Judge. Affirmed.
Before
Wedemeyer, P.J., Sullivan and Schudson, JJ.
PER
CURIAM. Raymond T.
Golden appeals from a judgment of conviction for unarmed robbery, first-degree
sexual assault and false imprisonment.
He was sentenced to five years imprisonment on the first count, ten
years consecutive on the second, and two years concurrent on the third. Golden's appellate counsel filed a no merit
report pursuant to Rule 809.32, Stats., and Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967). Golden received a
copy of the report and was informed of his right to file a response. He has elected not to do so. On the basis of the no merit report and an
independent review of the record, we conclude that there is no arguable merit
to any issue that could be raised on appeal.
Therefore, we affirm the judgment of conviction, and we relieve Attorney
Eugene R. Pigatti of further representing Golden in this matter.
The
no merit report first addresses the question of effective assistance of trial
counsel. While no Machner
hearing was evidently held, we are nonetheless persuaded that no issue of
arguable merit could arise on this point.
Our review of the record reveals nothing to show that trial counsel made
errors so serious that he was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed by the
Sixth Amendment. See State
v. Resio, 148 Wis.2d 687, 697, 436 N.W.2d 603, 607 (1989). Moreover, the question of trial counsel's
performance was addressed by the circuit court just prior to closing argument,
when Golden indicated his displeasure with trial counsel. The circuit court concluded that Golden was
being competently represented, and our review of the record indicates nothing
to belie that assessment.
The
no merit report also addresses the question of whether the evidence was
sufficient in light of guilty verdicts on both unarmed robbery and first-degree
sexual assault. Again, we are
unpersuaded that any issue of arguable merit could arise from this. If any possibility exists that the trier of
fact could have drawn the appropriate inferences from the evidence adduced at
trial to find the requisite guilt, an appellate court may not overturn a
verdict. See State v.
Poellinger, 153 Wis.2d 493, 507, 451 N.W.2d 752, 758 (1990). Here, the jury could have concluded from
parts of the victim's testimony that the threat of a weapon did not come until
after the robbery.
Our
review of the record reveals no other issues of arguable merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of
conviction, and we relieve Attorney Eugene R. Pigatti of further representing
Golden in this matter.
By
the Court.—Judgment affirmed.