Summary
The Wisconsin Supreme Court considered which version of Wisconsin's criminal statute of limitations applied to charges arising from alleged child sexual abuse committed between 1965 and 1972. The court held that the 1965–1972 version of Wis. Stat. § 939.74 governed and that later provisions concerning chapter 948 offenses did not apply to the charged chapter 944 offenses. The court also concluded that a circuit court judge should decide public-residency tolling in a pretrial proceeding, with the State bearing the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Which version of Wisconsin Statutes section 939.74 governed prosecutions for the alleged chapter 944 offenses committed between 1965 and 1972?
- Whether the later child-sexual-assault limitations provisions in section 939.74(2)(c) applied to the former chapter 944 offenses.
- Whether the circuit court or a jury decides the public-resident tolling issue under section 939.74(3).
- What burden of proof applies to determining whether the limitations period was tolled under section 939.74(3).
- What standard governs appellate review of the circuit court's tolling determination.
Holdings
- The version of Wisconsin Statutes section 939.74 in effect between 1965 and 1972 governs the charges because the alleged offenses occurred before the effective date of the later limitations provision and the legislature did not expressly make the later provision applicable to those offenses.
- Section 939.74(2)(c), which expressly listed chapter 948 offenses, did not constructively include the former chapter 944 offenses charged against MacArthur.
- MacArthur's due process challenge failed because he could not establish that the State delayed prosecution for an improper purpose that created a tactical advantage.
- The circuit court, rather than the jury, decides in a pretrial proceeding whether the public-resident tolling provision applies, and the State must prove the defendant was not a public resident by a preponderance of the evidence.
Key quotations
“After the defendant makes a statute of limitations challenge, the State bears the burden of showing, at a pretrial proceeding, that Wis. Stat. § 939.74(3) has been satisfied by a preponderance of the evidence.” (750 N.W.2d at 923)
“Therefore, the State need not prove a defendant's status as a public resident beyond a reasonable doubt.” (750 N.W.2d at 924)
Factual background
The State alleged that Bruce MacArthur sexually abused three children at St. Joseph's Hospital in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, between March 1965 and June 1972, while he was a hospital chaplain. He was charged on January 18, 2006, under several former chapter 944 statutes. MacArthur moved to dismiss, arguing that the six-year limitations period had expired and that the State had not shown facts supporting tolling.
Procedural history
MacArthur was charged in January 2006 with multiple offenses allegedly committed between 1965 and 1972. The circuit court denied his motion to dismiss on statute-of-limitations grounds and scheduled a pretrial hearing on whether the limitations period was tolled because he was not publicly resident in Wisconsin. MacArthur sought interlocutory review, the State cross-appealed the proposed burden of proof, and the court of appeals certified the issues to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Remand instructions
The circuit court's order was affirmed, and the case was remanded for proceedings consistent with the opinion, including a pretrial determination of public-resident tolling under the stated procedure.