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City of Pewaukee11/4/2004
The facts of this case are not in dispute. At approximately 7:30 a.m. on July 27, 2001, after his involvement in an automobile accident, Thomas L. Carter (the defendant) was cited by the City of Pewaukee for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and with a prohibited alcohol concentration. After several delays, the trial was set for June 20, 2002, in municipal court for the Town of Brookfield.*fn5
. The City presented three witnesses at the municipal court proceeding. The first was an analyst from the State Laboratory of Hygiene who testified regarding the defendant's blood sample and on how blood-alcohol concentration was determined. The second witness was the driver of the car with which the defendant's car collided. Finally, the City presented the police officer who was called to photograph the accident scene. The City elicited testimony from all three witnesses, and the defendant cross-examined each one. The City also presented documentary evidence.
. After the City's witnesses testified and were subject to cross examination, the City informed the municipal court that it would not move to admit the defendant's blood test because the arresting officer (who had ordered the defendant's blood drawn but was not the officer who had testified) was unavailable to testify. Instead of requesting a continuance or adjournment, the City rested its case, relying on the evidence already presented.
. Before presenting any evidence, the defendant moved to dismiss the action on the ground that the City had failed to meet its burden of proof. The municipal court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss the action with prejudice.
. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 800.14(4), the City requested a new trial in circuit court. The defendant filed a motion in circuit court to dismiss the City's request on the ground that the municipal court proceeding was not a "fully litigated" trial and therefore the City did not have the right to request a "new trial" as provided in § 800.14(4). The circuit court, relying on the Meyer case, issued an order granting the defendant's motion. The circuit court reasoned that the matter was not fully litigated because each party was not able to litigate fully its respective position. The court of appeals affirmed the order of the circuit court, concurring with the circuit court's reasoning that a full trial requires that a defendant have the opportunity to present a defense or rest its case. The City now seeks review of the decision of the court of appeals.
II.
. This case involves the interpretation of Wis. Stat. § 800.14(4) and the application of the statute to the undisputed facts of the present case. These are issues of law that we determine independently of the circuit court and court of appeals, benefiting from their analyses.*fn6
A.
. We begin with the statutes governing the parties' rights to move a case from municipal court to circuit court. Either party may move a case from municipal court to circuit court by way of appeal pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 800.14(1)*fn7 and by way of a new trial (before a judge or jury) pursuant to § 800.14(4). A defendant may also in certain cases plead not guilty, bypass the municipal court, and seek a jury trial in circuit court pursuant to § 800.04(1)(d).
. An appeal differs from a new trial. An appeal is determined on the record in the municipal court.*fn8 No one disputes that in the instant case the City could have appealed the circuit court's order of dismissal under Wis. Stat. § 800.14(5); the circuit court would have reviewed the record of the municipal court to determine the validity of the dismissal of the action.
. In a new trial, each party presents
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