JUDGE MOGEN Rejects Mercy: Young Man Blew His Probation. Sentencing Day!

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: we will go on the record in the matter 25 cm 105 state of wisconsin versus jordan gaffney the state appears through special prosecutor district attorney jeffrey kemp in person we do have daniel chapman defense counsel in person mr gaffney appears in person in custody we're set here today in this matter for a sentencing hearing on revocation the court has received and reviewed the revocation packet from the department of corrections um mr camp have you received a copy of that report i have any corrections or modifications that are material that should be stated on the record none noted mr chapman have you received that report i have your honor did you discuss it with mr gaffney yes i did any material corrections or errors that need to be corrected on the record no your honor all right thank you i'm gonna guess victims rights compliance yes perhaps we are in victims rights compliance um mr kemp argument please thank you and i'll be brief um [00:01:07] Speaker 2: looking at this case um you know the reason we put people on community supervision is to uh is with the hope that they can fix themselves with a little bit of help from the state um it does not appear that this has happened he's had several periods of incarceration and probation halls but that does not seem to have given him the necessary incentive to change his behavior um one of the things looking through this packet i think um the plot can analysis towards the end uh it gives gives a pretty pretty good explanation here um and i'll just read from it mr gaffney is a very violent man he's on probation for resisting law enforcement june 6 of 1925 law enforcement was called the report that mr gaffney had a gun was threatening people law enforcement arrived on scene in attempt to take mr gaffney custody he resisted and several officers had to force him in the squad car um he's not at home allowed at home because he attacked his father with a board and has had numerous numerous verbal and physical fights with his parents and siblings since being placed on probation there have been several allegations of threats made by mr gaffney along with several allegations of abuse abuse of a minor that he was in a sexual relationship with since being with initials a h he has wrecked many of her items choked her held a knife to her throat slapped her punched her and fractured her finger those are the things we know about mr gaffney needs to be revoked to protect the public i would agree with that i'm not sure why this stuff was not uh charged on its own i'm guessing um police were maybe not called um certainly i have not seen any police reports um but i i i would considering um all those things um i think that the uh recommendation by the department of corrections is appropriate um and the state would recommend nine months in jail thank you [00:03:09] Speaker 3: all right thank you um mr chapman well your honor it says right on page 14 of the packet why charges weren't filed uh reading from the first paragraph line three investigations were done but the allegations could not be proven there were no charges that doesn't mean the department can't attempt to revoke based on a lower burden of proof and there are other allegations beyond the serious stuff that the state was reading the department's summary of but frankly there's not a lot of corroboration of any of that and what we really have is an investigation and then after the fact the ah's grandfather coming to the department and complaining about mr gaffney probably with good reason but not enough to bring it to the level of criminal charges he just didn't want him dating ah so they're no longer together mr gaffney waived his revocation based on other allegations mostly uh recorded stuff from the jail but the original allegations judge i remember this case i represented mr gaffney uh the roommate that called the police also had a gun and there was questions over who was pointing the gun at whom first and the only charge mr gaffney pleaded to was resisting arrest because when the cops said okay you're coming with us he started shouting at them and pulling away i don't think that's a maximum nine month sentence based on the conduct if the court is saying nine months because of the allegations in the revocation packet i this isn't the opportunity to dispute that even the revocation hearing wouldn't have been an opportunity to dispute that and there were no criminal charges so what else can i say except mr gaffney disputes that so i would ask the court to consider a sentence of six months that is not a time-served disposition i don't believe but i think it's more in line with the conduct actually alleged in the criminal complaint in uh 25 cm 105 struggling and pulling away as the police attempted to handcuff him because he was surprised he was being arrested all right and do you have a calculation for jail credit i do your honor i have 114 days i had 113 not counting today i was counting today as we're supposed to i believe for jail sentences not for day of sentencing i thought it was prison sentences we're not supposed to no for both okay well i was counting today so that's the discrepancy so 113 days [00:05:50] Speaker 1: jail all right okay mr gaffney is there anything you want to say you want to let the court be aware [00:05:57] Speaker 4: of as it relates to this sentence oh yes your honor i wrote a statement today read slow okay yes please read it slowly and enunciate your words okay um i violated my probation and i take full responsibility for that i've been in jail for three months now and i've hit rock bottom every day i think about what i can do to end the cycle and become the person i was meant to be i really miss my family and my friends and they have shown me nothing but unconditional love and support while being away i'm nothing without these people in my life while in jail i've made a huge effort to be my best no matter what i'll go to bible study in groups whenever they are available to me and i've done accountant's courses on social skills [00:06:37] Speaker 1: you have to slow down sorry a little bit okay everybody doesn't don't worry on social skills and [00:06:43] Speaker 4: anger management i'm only 22 and too many people that's only the start of a life i've made many mistakes done wrong but it's never too late to turn a life around and that's what i plan to do people often tell me i'm a leader and if that is true i'd like to share my toast testimony in the future when i get out i'm instantly going to get back to work and start correcting the things i've done wrong i'm going to get a sponsor and continue going to my aoda sessions in aurora i'm truly very sorry to everyone i've involved i've broken a lot of hearts and burned a lot of bridges it sucks knowing how much of a jerk i was and again i am sorry please consider the progress i have made your honor thank you [00:07:23] Speaker 1: mr gaffney well mr chapman made a statement that you're not welcome back home i'm that's to his parents oh mr kemp said that yes judge oh i thought you could i thought you had said it um i'm guessing that's the parents home because do you rent or do you own your own home uh right you rent and is that still the home that you rent do you is that still your rental property [00:07:51] Speaker 4: oh yes your honor and i didn't know there was a i wasn't allowed back to my parents i go there for [00:07:56] Speaker 1: the holidays and stuff isn't it yeah i'm i'm not sure about that your parents are here that says you [00:08:04] Speaker 3: can't be there but your agent said you're not welcome back there that's what she's referring to [00:08:10] Speaker 1: mr gaffney i've seen you for many years i'm going back to when you were a juvenile i've said this to i think i've said this to you before i've seen you at your your worst and your lowest and i've seen you at your best this is definitely not one of the better ones and the last time you were in front of me it was for a probation review hearing in which you continue to use thc the legal we went over that we went over it and not only is it a violation of your department of corrections um probation conditions but it's illegal in the state of wisconsin you were punished for that you had to sit some time in jail i have seen you as a younger individual and i have told you at that time you are a smart young man you have the ability to do good things you also can be a violent young man and you can do some scary things only you are in control of you and your reactions so either you can take an opportunity once released from custody um to actually continue your aoda counseling but perhaps also dig deeper into trauma trauma counseling and counseling that will help direct you to go from in a situation that may be agitating and aggravating and cause anxiety and frustration and anger that instead of reacting like you tend to do you stop you breathe you give yourself an opportunity to then respond not react because reacting and you know this from your history and from who you are when you react you explode you don't think about what you're doing or what actions you are doing towards others and you're nodding your head up and down because i think you agree correct oh yes your honor and so i'm telling you this as a person who has sat in this chair and i have watched you grow up from i believe 16 until 22 and i have seen times in your life where you have been focused and you are on a good track and you are doing good things that but again that's where you have to take control and want that because i don't want to keep seeing you in orange in that seat and honestly i don't want to see it go substantially worse and be a potential prison matter mr gaffney and your attorney is correct that in looking at a sentencing after revocation i can't look at the allegations that may have brought you to the revocation um because if there are there to be charged they would be charged they'll be dealt with later i have to look at your case that was in front of me before and i have to look at um the fact that you weren't able to comply with department of corrections you weren't able to make the changes you need and so now it's the it's kind of the punishment part you were given the opportunity of the change let's rehabilitate part and now we're at the punishment part again i don't want to see you here again mr gaffney i did a withheld sentence because i wanted to give you the opportunity to know that you could sit the full nine months for this matter instead of looking at at the time and hearing both of the attorney's arguments and then doing that imposed and stayed because quite honestly it probably would have been maybe a lesser sentence if i would have looked at that exact on that exact day and not place you on probation i'm really hoping you're going to get your act in gear and you're going to do what you need to do and you're going to straighten yourself out mr gaffney i truly truly do because i don't want anyone else to be in any of the situations that have come before this court before and taking the allegations in the sentencing revocation if any of that is correct and accurate i don't want to see that happen i want to i wanted to see you go to college and i wanted to see you run and i wanted to see you get your degree and i wanted to see you do good things i still want that don't let go of that mr gaffney now i i do have to look at both of the recommendations in front of the court and again this should be some punishment hopefully you've learned something and hopefully you're going to continue to learn something this is not a maximum possible penalty um case to me but i think um what what i think an appropriate sentence is is seven months of jail you have 20 days to appeal should you fail to appeal within 20 days you do lose that right if there are any fines and fees that are still outstanding um a civil judgment will be entered on your behalf and a warrant could be issued i believe we already have your dna i think that covers everything um i do not believe are you still you're not on probation for any other matter oh no your honor keep it that way mr gaffney go to counseling go to therapy mr kemp is there anything that i'm missing [00:14:08] Speaker 3: i don't believe so mr chapman is he eligible for huber on the jail sentence judge he is employed [00:14:14] Speaker 1: uh he would have to do a separate motion for the court um and he would be through the court's [00:14:20] Speaker 3: electronic monitor at his cost i forgot burnett doesn't have an in and out does it we do not so what would he have to provide for the court in order to get work release privileges uh proof of [00:14:33] Speaker 1: employment um and just file a motion and it'll be heard as quickly as uh we can get it get on but you're relative you're here relatively a lot mr chapman yes judge all right thank you we are adjourned thank you