This case is proof that a defense lawyer must research before allowing a defendant to plead guilty. Appellate court decision is HERE5-27-2011 Wisconsin:
A state appellate court reversed a ruling by a Wood County judge, as the appeals court ruled a defendant had been "inappropriately incarcerated for a substantial period of time."
Yancy D. Freland, 37, of Wisconsin Rapids, pleaded guilty Aug. 6, 2007, to failure to register as a sex offender. The charge Freland pleaded to and was found guilty of was a felony. A year later, Wood County Circuit Judge Greg Potter sentenced Freland to two years in prison when he violated his probation, according to court documents.
Freland was convicted of a misdemeanor charge of sexual misconduct in Minnesota, according to an opinion released Thursday by the District VI Court of Appeals. He wasn't aware the Wisconsin charge of violating sex offender registry rules could have been charged as a misdemeanor.
When Freland learned about the misdemeanor option of charging, he filed an appeal to the case. Potter denied the appeal, and it went to appellate court.
In the opinion, judges said Freland wasn't properly informed of his options when he entered his guilty plea and could withdraw it. If Freland had been convicted of the misdemeanor charge, the maximum penalty would have been nine months. He served more than a year before he was set free.
The appellate court ordered Potter to conclude the case with "great dispatch." ..Source.. by Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
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