State v. Michael A. Keister
State v. Michael A. Keister
Opinion
*741
¶1 The court of appeals dismissed this appeal as moot. We reverse that order and address the Iowa County Circuit Court's decision declaring
¶2 The facts relevant to this appeal are summarized as follows. In November 2015, Keister overdosed on heroin while on extended supervision in two Sauk County felony cases. Later that month, Keister voluntarily applied for admission to the Iowa County Drug Treatment Court program. Keister was charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia in Iowa County in December 2015 as a result of his heroin overdose. In August 2016, Keister picked up new charges in Sauk County.
3
Based on the new Sauk County charges, the State moved to expel Keister from the Iowa County Drug Treatment Court program pursuant to
¶3 In January 2017, with the expulsion hearing still pending, Keister pled no contest *205 to possession of heroin in Iowa County. 4 The State agreed to make the following conditional sentencing recommendations: (1) if Keister was not expelled from the Iowa County Drug Treatment Court program, the State would recommend two years of probation, conditioned upon participation in and completion of the program; (2) if Keister was expelled from the Iowa County Drug *743 Treatment Court program, the State would recommend four months in jail. A sentencing date was set off into the future.
¶4 In February 2017, Keister filed a motion challenging the constitutionality of
¶5 The State appealed the circuit court's decision. Two months later, the new charges filed against Keister in Sauk County were dismissed. Keister did not have an offense pending and thus no longer met the definition of "violent offender" for purposes of the motion to expel. Keister was, however, revoked from his extended supervision and sentenced to prison. Keister was eventually placed on probation for three *744 years for possession of heroin in Iowa County, with the condition that he successfully complete the Iowa County Drug Treatment Court program.
¶6 We first note that although this case is moot with respect to Keister, we accepted this petition because the issues involved are likely to arise again and this court could alleviate uncertainty.
See
State v. Morford
,
¶7 Wisconsin Stat. § 165.95(2) provides, in relevant part, that the Wisconsin Department of Justice shall make grants to counties and tribes "to enable them to establish and operate programs ... that *206 provide alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for criminal offenders who abuse alcohol or other drugs." The statute further sets forth rules and guidelines for programs receiving grant funds. Section 165.95(3)(c) requires that programs created pursuant to the grant program establish criteria for a person's participation, including criteria that specifies that a "violent offender" is not eligible to participate in the program. Section 165.95(1)(a) defines a "violent offender" as a person who "has been charged with or convicted of an *745 offense in a pending case and, during the course of the offense, the person carried, possessed, or used a dangerous weapon, the person used force against another person, or a person died or suffered serious bodily harm." 7
¶8 Substantive and procedural due process rights emanate from the Fourteenth Amendment.
Penterman v. Wisconsin Elec. Power Co.
,
¶9 The circuit court held that because Keister could be sentenced to jail for possession of heroin if he were to be expelled from the Iowa County Drug Treatment Program,
¶10 The circuit court further concluded that because
¶11 The parties concede that because
¶12 We agree with the parties' concessions and conclude that Keister does not have a fundamental liberty interest in continued participation in a treatment court funded by
By the Court. -The decision of the court of appeals is reversed; circuit court order vacated.
All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2015-16 version unless otherwise indicated.
The Honorable William Andrew Sharp of Iowa County presided.
Keister was charged with substantial battery, strangulation/suffocation, and felony bail jumping.
In exchange, the State dismissed the drug paraphernalia charge.
The circuit court also granted Keister's motion to dismiss the State's motion to expel Keister from drug treatment court.
We acknowledge that reviewing courts generally decline to decide moot issues but may do so under certain circumstances.
State v. Morford
,
(1) [I]s of great public importance; (2) occurs so frequently that a definitive decision is necessary to guide circuit courts; (3) is likely to arise again and a decision of the court would alleviate uncertainty; or (4) will likely be repeated, but evades appellate review because the appellate review process cannot be completed or even undertaken in time to have a practical effect on the parties.
This subsection was renumbered to
Keister was ultimately not deprived of a liberty or property interest as he was given the opportunity to continue his participation in the Iowa County Drug Treatment Court program.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.