Review granted in 'State v. Straszkowski'

(2006AP64-CR)

The issue presented in this case is whether a defendant’s plea was unknowing and involuntary because he allegedly didn’t know that a dismissed charge would be read in for sentencing purposes and what the effect of reading in would be.

Some background: David G. Straszkowski was a defendant in a number of criminal cases in Clark County. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Straszkowski pled guilty to one count of second-degree sexual assault of a child, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of issuing a worthless check. In exchange for those guilty pleas, a second charge of second-degree sexual assault of a child and a second charge of issuing a worthless check were dismissed and read in for sentencing purposes.

The pre-sentence investigation report recommended some jail time and probation. However, the circuit court sentenced Straszkowski to five years of initial confinement to be followed by ten years of extended supervision. Straszkowski filed a motion for postconviction relief, seeking to withdraw his plea or to modify his sentence. Straszkowski argued that he did not understand that the dismissed charges would be treated as read-ins, which meant that he was admitting the facts of those charges alleged in the complaint. Straszkowski contends his plea questionnaire indicated that the remaining charges were simply to be dismissed, and that if he had known the court could consider allegations from the dismissed charges at sentencing, he would not have entered his plea.

The circuit court denied the motion to withdraw the guilty plea as well as the motion for modification of the sentence. On appeal, the Court of Appeals rejected Straszkowski’s argument that his plea was unknowing and involuntary because he did not understand the effect of the read in procedure. [summarily affirmed September 12, 2006]

A decision by the Supreme Court could determine whether a plea hearing must include an explanation of the impact of a read-in and whether a judge must ensure that the defendant understands the explanation of the read-in procedure. From Clark County.