Robison v. State, 2011 WY 4

Robison was convicted of DUI under Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 31-5-233(b)(ii)(A) for an offense dated November 2, 2008.
At a January 2010 Sentencing Enhancement Hearing, the district court considered multiple prior DUIs to determine a fourth-or-subsequent offense.
Robison challenges whether the sentence relied on a Missouri conviction that falls outside the five-year window in § 31-5-233(e).
Robison also alleges ineffective assistance of counsel for not moving to suppress evidence from an allegedly illegal stop based on a REDDI tip.
The REDDI report came from a Sundance Lounge employee and described a very drunk patron; police stopped Robison shortly after receiving the tip.
The district court concluded the sentence was proper and the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the sentence is illegal for counting a conviction outside five years.	Robison contends Missouri conviction date falls outside five-year window.	State argues the 'conviction' triggering the counting period can be any event listed in § 31-7-102(a)(xi).	No illegal sentence; proper starting date for the five-year period was within statute.
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for not moving to suppress evidence from the stop.	Robison claims suppression would have been merited due to an illegal stop based on an anonymous REDDI-like tip.	Tip was non-anonymous (Sundance Lounge employee identified); independent corroboration existed; thus no suppression error.	Counsel not ineffective; REDDI framework and corroboration supported stop; no prejudice shown.

McChesney v. State, 988 P.2d 1071 (Wyo.1999) (REDDI-tip sufficiency and reasonable suspicion standards)
Welch v. State, 873 P.2d 601 (Wyo.1994) (even seemingly innocent conduct may justify suspicion under certain standards)
Seteren v. State, 167 P.3d 20 (Wyo.2007) (conviction-counting rules for five-year window)
McGuire v. Department of Revenue and Taxation, 809 P.2d 271 (Wyo.1991) (definition/trigger of 'conviction' for counting offenses)
Sincock v. State, 76 P.3d 323 (Wyo.2003) (standards for evaluating trial counsel performance)
Dettloff v. State, 152 P.3d 376 (Wyo.2007) (de novo review of ineffectiveness claims; mixed questions of law and fact)
In re CT, 140 P.3d 643 (Wyo.2006) (sentence legality review; limits on discretionary sentencing)
Jackson v. State, 209 P.3d 897 (Wyo.2009) (criminal sentencing standards and legality)
Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (U.S. 1990) (reliability of anonymous tips and corroboration requirements)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (standards for ineffective assistance of counsel)