NEWS
Court denies new defendant access
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by Michael Evert
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The state Supreme Court ruled against an appeal Wednesday that would have allowed defendants of criminal cases access to police reports prior to their preliminary court hearing.
The decision struck a blow to efforts to make legal procedure more transparent for defense attorneys and defendants in criminal cases.
Attorney John Buting spoke on behalf of his wife and legal partner, Kathleen Williams, who represented the defendant in the case.
“So many flaws in our system have been revealed over the years, particularly all the wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations,” he said. “It really is time to open up the process.”
Buting added this element of criminal procedure puts the defendant at a significant disadvantage in relation to the prosecution.
Kevin St. John, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Justice, said the concerns of the defense were unfounded.
“There are adequate and appropriate means for the defendant to have access to information in the state’s position,” he said. “Allowing a defendant to get this information prior to the preliminary hearing would be burdensome and would not have a corresponding benefit in terms of a fair trial.”
St. John added the decision is concurrent with Wisconsin statutory law. Current Wisconsin law denies a criminal defendant from obtaining police reports through a subpoena before the preliminary hearing.
There are other options, however, by which police reports can be obtained by a defendant, including requesting the information from the state and corresponding state approval or obtaining the information through a third party.
The court opinion found there was no basis in state statutes or the state constitution for allowing a criminal defendant to subpoena police reports prior to a preliminary hearing.
Buting said this decision may conflict with Constitutional law and said he is considering other legal options, including an appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
Buting added though the U.S. Supreme Court has generally been reluctant to hear cases like this, he is optimistic for the case’s future.
The decision handed down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday dealt with a 16-year-old case in which Donald Schaefer, a Wisconsin man charged with sexual assault, was denied a subpoena request that would release police information relating to his case.
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