State v. Pablo Cruz Santana, 220 Wis. 2d 674, 584 N.W.2d 151 (Ct. App. 1998)
For Santana: Steven P. Weiss, SPD, Madison Appellate
Issue/Holding:
In passing sentence, the trial court addressed each of the primary factors, but chiefly relied on the seriousness of the offense and its continuing impact on the victim. …
Santana claims, however, that the judge’s comments also evinced an impermissible consideration of how the sentence imposed would be perceived by the public, and he argues that this factor was primarily responsible for the lengthy sentence. However, we disagree with this characterization of Judge Kennedy’s remarks. The complete transcript of the sentencing hearing convinces us that Judge Kennedy considered a wide range of information about Santana and offered numerous reasons for his ultimate decision. …
Consideration of the trial court’s comments in context convinces us that the judge’s comments were merely a reference to giving a factor more weight than he had previously: the factor of imposing a sentence which does not unfairly depreciate the seriousness of the crime and its impact on the victim. …
