Certification Question Guilty-plea-waiver Rule.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

WI Supreme Court

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. Jacob Richard Beyer

Case No.: 2021 WI 59

Focus: Certification Question Guilty-plea-waiver Rule

This case is before us on certification from the court of appeals pursuant to Wis. Stat. (Rule) 809.61 (2019-20). The certified issue is: "whether the guilty-plea-waiver rule applies when a defendant pleads not guilty to an offense, but stipulates to the inculpatory facts supporting each element of the offense, and explicitly agrees to a finding of guilt at a hearing before the circuit court at which no witness testifies."

We conclude that the occurrence in the circuit court, while not a guilty plea made in the customary mode, also was not a court trial. We further conclude that, while parties may stipulate to facts for purposes of a criminal trial, trials based on stipulated facts and a stipulated finding of guilt are not permissible in Wisconsin. Finally, we conclude that Beyer cannot be held to the stipulation...