State v. Aniton
State v. Aniton
Opinion of the Court
Melvin Aniton appeals from a judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance, cocaine, with intent to deliver. See §§ 161.16(2)(b)l and 161.41(l)(c)4, Stats. Aniton argues that his conviction must be reversed, and the complaint dismissed with prejudice, because he did not make an initial appearance and receive a finding of probable cause within forty-eight hours of being taken into custody after a warrantless arrest. Because Aniton pled guilty, we conclude that he waived his right to appellate review of these nonjurisdictional defects and we affirm his conviction.
The police arrested Aniton without warrant on February 1, 1992, at the General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee with 250 grams of cocaine in his possession. The State filed a criminal complaint on February 4th. Aniton appeared personally and with counsel before Court Commissioner Harry Halloway
Criminal subject-matter jurisdiction is the "power of the court to inquire into the charged crime, to apply the applicable law and to declare the punishment." Id. at 294, 286 N.W.2d at 566. The circuit court's subject-matter jurisdiction attaches when the complaint is filed. See State v. Estrada, 63 Wis. 2d 476, 492, 217 N.W.2d 359, 367, cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1093 (1974). The circuit court lacks criminal subject-matter jurisdiction only where the complaint does not charge an offense known to law. See Mack, 93 Wis. 2d at 295, 286 N.W.2d at 567. Once criminal subject-matter jurisdiction attaches, it continues until a final disposition of
The law is clear on the issue of criminal subject-matter jurisdiction. Aniton does not allege that the complaint failed to charge an offense. Aniton has failed to show how either of his alleged violations in any way prevented the trial court from obtaining criminal subject-matter jurisdiction or from retaining criminal subject-matter jurisdiction once it had attached with the filing of the complaint.
By the Court. — Judgment affirmed.
The exact date on which Aniton made his initial appearance and received a probable cause'determination is unknown. The judgment docket entry on this point is unclear. Aniton and the State agree his initial appearance and probable cause determination were not within forty-eight hours of his arrest but were no later than February 6.
Section 970.01(1), STATS., provides, in part:
Initial appearance before a judge. (1) Any person who is arrested shall be taken within a reasonable time before a judge in the county in which the offense was alleged to have been committed.
To satisfy the requirements of the Fourth Amendment, a person in custody pursuant to a warrantless arrest must have the benefit of a judicial determination of probable cause within forty-eight hours of the arrest, absent a bona fide emergency or other extraordinary circumstances. County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44, —, 111 S. Ct. 1661, 1669-71 (1991); State v. Koch, 175 Wis. 2d 684, 696-97, 499 N.W.2d 152, 159 (1993), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 221 (1993).
Although, due to our disposition of this case, we do not reach the issue of the appropriateness of the remedy requested by Aniton for the defects in question, we note the existence of authority which would indicate that dismissal with prejudice is not the appropriate sanction. See United States v. Crews, 445 U.S. 463, 474 (1980) (violation may warrant exclusion of evidence obtained as result of delay); Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 U.S. 103, 119 (1975) ("[A] conviction will not be vacated on the
Aniton cites several cases that explore the circuit court's lack of power to act and loss of competency to exercise its jurisdiction. None of these cases involve criminal prosecutions, and all involve violations of specific statutory time limitations.
Concurring Opinion
(concurring). Although Aniton's guilty plea waived his right to appellate review of a Riverside violation, it is important to emphasize that a guilty plea does not preclude appellate discretion to review the reasonableness of a Riverside violation.
In its brief to this court the State writes:
On this record, the state must concede that the Ger-stein-Riverside forty-eight hour rule was violated. The state does not concede that there was an unreasonable delay in the conducting of Aniton's initial appearance.
As the State correctly argues, that uncertainty could have been erased had Aniton filed a motion challenging "defects in the institution of the proceedings," under § 971.31(2), STATS.,
As the State implicitly acknowledges, under State ex rel. Van Ermen v. Burke, 30 Wis. 2d 324, 338, 140 N.W.2d 737, 744 (1966), the potential for "absolute discharge" has not been determined but may exist as the appropriate remedy "in order to prevent a pattern of police practice involving unreasonable lengths of detention." In my opinion, our decision in this case does not preclude that potential. Further, our decision does not preclude appellate evaluation of that issue merely
Thus, I trust that our decision in this case will not vitiate the strength of Riverside. For what some day might prove to be an unreasonable delay resulting from negligent, intentional, malicious, or persistent police practice, our discretionary review may become critical. Indeed, to the extent that courts would restrict review of such alleged Riverside violations, they would increase the potential for just such police practices, particularly during times of jail-overcrowding and inádequate criminal justice resources.
Here, because Aniton failed to pursue and litigate the Riverside issue as required by §§ 971.31(2) and 971.31(5)(a), STATS., he denied the trial court the opportunity to effectively review his challenge. In my opinion, that, not his guilty plea, foreclosed our opportunity to review his constitutional challenge. Accordingly, I respectfully concur.
Section 971.31(2), STATS., provides, in part:
[0]bjections based on defects in the institution of the proceedings ... shall be raised before trial by motion or be deemed waived.
Section 971.31(5)(a), Stats., provides:
Motions before trial shall be served and filed within 10 days after the initial appearance of the defendant in a misdemeanor action or 10 days after arraignment in a felony action unless the court otherwise permits.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- State of Wisconsin, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Melvin Aniton, Defendant-Appellant
- Cited By
- 17 cases
- Status
- Published