Making a Murderer — Dark Cloud Hangs over Wisconsin Judiciary Amid Corruption Concerns

The once exonerated Steven Avery faces
his most malicious enemy in the
Democratic Party and a corrupt
Wisconsin Judiciary that has abdicated
its duty to act with impartiality. Damage,
destruction are the aims against Avery
and his nephew who have committed a
mortal sin in Wisconsin: Fighting back
against state violence and corrupt cops.

Avery Seeks New Trial and Evidentiary Hearing in a Corrupt State Court System

Commentary

Update II: Rebuttal to State's Response in Opposition of Mr. Avery's Petition. This is a devastating public explanation that the DOJ undoubtedly will misrepresent amid its posturing that there is nothing to see here.

Updated: Madison, Wisconsin — Steven Avery and his nephew, Brendan Dassey, were convicted of first-degree homicide in Wisconsin in 2007 for the murder of a young photographer, Teresa Halbach. 

Both men are serving life sentences following much criticized investigations and trials held in east-central Wisconsin, known locally for small-town justice and police corruption.

Avery is appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in post-conviction litigation, seeking a new trial and an evidentiary heating in his August petition.

The case is State of Wisconsin v Steven Avery, featured in the Emmy-winning Making a Murderer docuseries.

But the once-exonerated Steven Avery faces a vendetta from multiple foes, including the Wisconsin Democratic leadership, corrupt law enforcement and the Wisconsin Judiciary which has largely abdicated its role as protector of individual Constitutional rights in favor of covering for police misconduct.

Yesterday, the Wisconsin DoJ filed a response opposing Steven Avery's petition for a hearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Avery seeks a public evidentiary hearing on new evidence that was hidden by the prosecution for the purpose of blocking material facts pointing to Avery's innocence. He also seeks a new trial, reasoning that the non-existent case for his guilt combined with the clear law enforcement misconduct would make the spectacle of another guilty trial verdict impossible.

Notes attorney Jerome Buting: "State’s response to Avery’s @ZellnerLaw petition opposes SCOW review, claiming SA was not treated differently because his case was 'the subject of a television show.' Really? In no other case has WI fought so desperately to avoid any evidentiary hearing."

At each point is his post-conviction litigation, the State DOJ has blocked, delayed, deterred and opposed Avery's quest for his second exoneration.

A reader ought consider this whole affair is not akin to sick, ole-boy Louisiana corruption. Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma and Missouri have nothing on Wisconsin police-prosecutor corruption, more insidious than any conduct our fellows to the South can conjure.

Few believe in the impartiality of the Wisconsin Judiciary which is capable of doing anything in service to a corrupt police force.

WI’s phobia of an evidentiary hearing in Avery’s case can only be because they know truth would be revealed. Better to cover up #corruptiwoc than seek real justice. But it will only increase public distrust of American justice. #makingamurderer #illusionofjustice #brokensystem

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) September 9, 2021

Wisconsin has a nefarious cast of characters in law enforcement, but the Avery and Dassey cases approach the demented.

Kenneth R. Kratz, former Calumet County District Attorney, (1992-2010), was forced to resign in disgrace in 2010 for outrageous sexual misconduct in 2009, perhaps earlier, just two years after prosecuting the Avery-Dassey cases.

Kratz is self-described as suffering from narcissistic personality disorder, sexual compulsion disorder and multiple drug addictions.

But the Wisconsin DoJ has defended the work of this same repulsive figure Kratz in Avery's post-conviction litigation, instead of launching an investigation into Wisconsin law enforcement, Kratz and other prosecutors' subsequent conduct to determine the reliability of convictions.

"The State ... conveys an attitude of impunity for its past actions of withholding exculpatory evidence and its current action of continuing the concealment of its destruction of potentially exculpatory or useful evidence," writes Avery attorney, Kathleen Zellner in 2019 in a legal filing in appellate court.

The State of Wisconsin DoJ did worse in post-conviction litigation than convey an attitude of impunity. The DoJ has chided the defense for bringing multiple Brady violations to the attention of the Court, so strong is the prosecution's confidence that the Court will sustain the DoJ's positions.

Avery's attorney, Zellner, reacted with restrained outrage this posture.

Zellner replied to the Court on April 22, 2021: "It is a supreme irony that in one of the most blatant examples of a wrongful conviction the State's only response is to falsely accuse Mr. Avery's lead counsel of nefarious conduct for discovering a 6th Brady violation. Rather than seeking justice, the State wants to 'slay the messenger' by putting forth more false allegations, a skill that it has mastered over the last 16 years. The State turns a blind eye toward its past actions of withholding exculpatory evidence."

On July 28, 2021, the Court of Appeals (Dist II), delivered a results-oriented decision and opinion so blatant in adopting the State's errors that lay parties revealed the decision to be rife with misstatement, and misinterpretation of evidence (Reddit). Avery's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, followed up with a petition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court some four weeks later.

On Sept 8, 2021, when the DoJ filed its response opposing Avery's petition for a hearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and the large pro-Avery community around the world reacted with gasps and disgust.

This DOJ posture, haughty and disingenuous, raises the question, if the State is so certain that its conviction of Avery and Brendan Dassey are on the level, why does it oppose bringing the case to light before the State high court, an evidentiary hearing, and a new trial?

Avery advocates have noted that the DOJ failed to even challenge Avery's arguments in its response, instead taking on the tone of how dare you challenge the integrity of this conviction?

Attorney Zellner, who has seen every type of State depravity in her practice around the country freeing dozens of wrongfully convicted persons, seemed shook by the pathological tone of the Democrat-led Dept of Justice's latest filing that reads more like a politcal document subtly calling for Party loyalty that a legal filing made in good faith.

Zellner sent out three tweets, deleted two, before she noted: "If we had wanted to re-read the same error filled COA decision again we could have. The State’s Regurgitation Response addresses none of the errors —it just repeats them. Justice delayed again for Steven Avery."

If we had wanted to re-read the same error filled COA decision again we could have. The State’s Regurgitation Response addresses none of the errors —it just repeats them. Justice delayed again for Steven Avery. @MakingAMurderer

— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) September 9, 2021

This is Wisconsin.

This is where Martin Lipske, a contemptible District Attorney in Iron County in northern Wisconsin, was driven into retirement just before Lipske fronted for child trafficking schemes.

So, the Wisconsin District Attorney Association named Lipske Prosecutor of the Year for the Department of Justice in 2016, and awarded Lipske the E. Michael McCann Award from the DA Association. 

The Wisconsin Judiciary cannot be counted on to police corrupt law enforcement, certainly not an odious figure like Kratz and the Democrat-led Wisconsin Dept of Justice.

Behind the scenes, the DOJ's attempt to rewrite the state's Brady doctrine will figure into this case.

The four Republicans on the Wisconsin Supreme Court are Avery's hope as Wisconsin Democrats will do their worst to protect wrongful convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey.

The DOJ dismissal of a Brady violation claim is preposterous, for instance, that even the DOJ notes features the defense failure to raise an issue of omission to which the defense was never alerted.

Would love to know how Avery was supposed to raise the destroyed bones argument in his 2013, when they were given back to the family in 2011 and none of his post-conviction attorney's knew about it.

I'd like to see any documentation he was alerted to this screw-up by the state. pic.twitter.com/0Xmy0P32w5

— TickTockManitowoc (@TManitowoc) September 8, 2021