State v. Nathan T. Hall, 2002 WI App 108
For Hall: Howard B. Eisenberg, Dean, Marquette Law School
Issue/Holding: Because the trial court failed to explain its reasoning, its sentence was an erroneous exercise of discretion. In particular, the trial court exceeded the PSI recommendation (107 years) by approximately 200 years, without explaining either the necessity for sentences so long “that Hall will never live long enough to serve them,” or why it was adding 200 years to the PSI recommendation. And, even though the trial court briefly mentioned sentencing factors, it never applied them to Hall’s case. ¶¶15-17. (Sentence also held not sustainable on court of appeals’ own review of record, court stressing that defendant given effective life sentence for crimes not carrying life. ¶20.)
