State ex rel. Phillip I. Warren v. Schwarz, 219 Wis.2d 615, 579 N.W.2d 698 (1998), affirming 211 Wis. 2d 708, 566 N.W.2d 173 (Ct. App. 1997) / State v. Phillip I. Warren, 219 Wis.2d 615, 579 N.W.2d 698 (1998), on certification
For Warren: Ralph A. Kalal
Issue: Whether Warren was entitled to appointment of counsel for postconviction proceedings.
Holding (¶66):
¶66 Warren’s motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 974.06 is not a direct appeal from a conviction. Rather, a § 974.06 proceeding is considered to be civil in nature, and authorizes a collateral attack on a defendant’s conviction. See § 974.06(6).19 Defendants do not have a constitutional right to counsel when mounting collateral attacks upon their convictions, such as the § 974.06 postconviction motion involved here. See Finley, 481 U.S. [551] at 555; Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 488 (1969). Therefore, Warren did not have a right to appointed counsel at his § 974.06 postconviction proceedings.
