The Waukesha Christmas Parade attack suspect motions to have his case dismissed following a jailhouse search
WAUKESHA - Ahead of two key hearings in late August, the attorneys for Darrell Brooks Jr., the man accused in the Waukesha Christmas Parade attacks, have filed a series of motions, including one seeking to have the case dismissed.
The basis for the dismissal motion was a July 1 jail search in which investigators and the district attorney's office sought information relating to Brooks' recent decision to change his plea to not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, also known as the insanity defense or NGI.
In motions filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court in August, public defenders Jeremy Perri and Anna Kees, maintain the half-hour search was conducted with a deficient search warrant and violated Brooks' attorney-client privileges.
Darrell Brooks' attorneys say search warrant shouldn't have happened
According to the motion, the defense attorneys argued that the search warrant did not support the standard that there was probable cause that a crime had been committed by Brooks while he was in jail. The warrant was issued in part based on a March phone conversation he had with his mother about the idea of entering an insanity plea.
The idea for an NGI plea came from a defendant in a Dane County case involving James M. Kruger, who entered such a plea after he was charged in a series of felony crimes, including armed robberies and assaults in 2013. (Kruger was ultimately convicted.) Brooks told his mother that Kruger had sent a large manila folder containing NGI defense materials.
Brooks' attorneys also said investigators found documents under his jail cell mattress and made copies, some of which included confidential attorney-client materials.
In their filings, the attorneys asked for either a dismissal of the case or, as an alternative, the removal of the prosecution team which viewed the evidence obtained in the search. They also filed a motion to suppress any evidence gathered during that search.
In response to the defense motions, Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper said the claims made by Perri and Kees were "factually vague," noting that Brooks had failed to establish which document contained privileged material that would jeopardize his defense.
Regardless, Opper said any possible plan to fraudulently create an insanity defense was not privileged.
Brooks was questioned after invoking his right to remain silent, defense attorneys say
The dismissal and evidence suppression motions tied to the July 1 search weren't the only ones entered by his attorneys. They also argue that statements made to police during his Nov. 22 interrogation should be suppressed because he was continually questioned after stating he wished to invoke his right to remain silent.
Those motions were filed by the court-appointed Aug. 1 deadline set by Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow as part of a process to keep the case on track as it approaches a planned Oct. 3 trial date.
On Wednesday, Dorow rejected a separate motion by the district attorney's office, which had asked her to seal information contained in the defense motions. In her ruling, she said that because the defense motions were already part of the public record, and because attorneys can screen potential jurors to ensure they aren't biased by the information, there was no legal basis for sealing those documents.
Dorow previously set a status hearing, which will be held Aug. 25, to discuss various issues, including medical reports from three court-appointed doctors concerning Brooks' mental state tied to his plea. Those reports are due Aug. 19.
In addition, the court has set an Aug. 26 motion hearing to discuss the filings by all attorneys relating to the case, including responses by the district attorney's office to the defense motions.
A hearing on the jury selection process is coming up
Another status hearing, this time focusing on the jury selection process, is set for Sept. 9. The court will consider the answers to questionnaires sent to all members of the jury pool as part of an effort to remove any potential jurors who might have ties to the hundreds of victims from and witnesses to the incident.
Brooks, 40, of Milwaukee stands accused of 83 criminal counts tied to the Nov. 21 parade tragedy in which six people were killed and more than 60 others injured. According to the thrice-amended criminal complaint, Brooks allegedly drove past police and barricades in downtown Waukesha following a domestic incident nearby in Frame Park.
He initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but in June instead entered an insanity plea.
Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Darrell Brooks seeks dismissal in Waukesha Christmas Parade case
