System Choice — Power to Direct State Violence Is Discretionary, Political and Vicious

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 and
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.
SPIRITS Goya sneered at malevolent clergy
in Hobgoblins.

Madison, Wisconsin — In Wisconsin, human rights workers fight for the innocent — brutalized by liars populating offices of district attorneys, attorneys general and seemingly an entire state judiciary — yet these same human rights advocates often labor under delusion.

This delusion is that the criminal justice system and the judiciary function in an intellectually honest, non-political fashion objectively finding facts, doctrine and application of law like detached, non-political agents of pure epistemology, so dedicated as to approach hard science.

Lunacy. Worse, it's a lie.

While not every Wisconsin district attorney is a verminous Ken Kratz (driven from law and Wisconsin), or an odious Vince Biskupic (a sitting judge!), nor is every cop a Matt Kenny (still a Madison cop) or Mark Wiegert (still a sheriff) or a cold-blooded killer Stephen Heimsness (sponging off Madison people as he claims he was traumatized for killing the innocent Paul Heenan), misconduct and malignant action of cops and prosecutors incur little costs, commonly garner professional awards, and win plaudits from most judges.

Put another way, cops will kill, and prosecutors will destroy life; and the judiciary, best understood as a cult of high  clergy, will stamp its imprimatur as agents of the Sovereign, smiling down on imprisoned slaves of the state like black-robed kobolds, diminutive "goblin-like creatures with short-tempers and a mischievous spirit."

See, for example, Wisconsin sitting County Circuit Judge Vince Biskupic: "[J]ust stay away from anything to do with [Vince] Biskupic. He will pull you into this (a homicide charge). You have nothing to do with it. He doesn’t care about you or your kids," a lawyer warned an innocent, lest she become another victim of Wisconsin injustice. 

And that was before Biskupic became a Outagamie County judge, and before he resigned in scandal as Outagamie County District Attorney.

Scandal and crime rarely disqualify for service in Wisconsin's criminal justice system.

The Judiciary

Widespread faith in the state and federal judiciaries persist no matter deceit.

This may be changing.

As judicial supremacists in the United States Supreme Court have decided women no longer possess autonomy over their own bodies and no longer have liberty to choose whether they have children, millions of Americans are asking, who the hell do these justices think they are? Monarchs?

It's a good question, but one that up to now was more likely to be brought up by Sidney Powell than the Democrat establishment.

The question of judicial supremacy especially as embodied in the federal judiciary that routinely overrides the will of Congress and the presidency on liberty questions, per Court caprice or service to favored interests, has been staring America in the face for a long time.

Civil disobedience is only now becoming widespread.

During COVID 19 that spurred a body of law governing citizen behavior on public health grounds, sheriffs the nation-over stated as Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling said, "state law does not have the power to supersede or suspend the Constitutional rights of American citizens" (WISC-TV).

Racine's Schmaling and others were not going to let laws or any judge intrude upon liberty (Washington Post, The Guardian).

Following the heroic leaking of the draft Supreme Court opinion eviscerating reproductive liberty enshrined in Roe v. Wade, (Politico) (Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization), Democrat prosecutors across the nation raced to declare they will not prosecute women under existing state laws defining abortion as a criminal offense (Washington Post). See Thomas E. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al., Petitioners v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, et al. No. 19-1392.

Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D) declared his office will not investigate or prosecute woman or doctors for abortion 'offenses.' Further, Kaul is discouraging district attorneys and law enforcement throughout the state from enforcing an 1849 ban on abortion.

Putting aside why Wisconsin Democrats did not legislate away this ban in 2009 when Democrats had unitary control of state government, Kaul said on social media this week that his determination to protect women's choice would be fought on several fronts, including the courts, "We must speak out against this effort to erode Wisconsinites’ freedom. If the Court abandons precedent and Roe falls, we must fight to protect reproductive freedom—and our other freedoms—in Congress, state legislatures, and state courts."

We must speak out against this effort to erode Wisconsinites’ freedom. If the Court abandons precedent and Roe falls, we must fight to protect reproductive freedom—and our other freedoms—in Congress, state legislatures, and state courts. 4/4

— Attorney General Josh Kaul (@WisDOJ) May 3, 2022

Human Rights

Disobedience of Court-sanctioned lawlessness is a healthy development for human rights.

Justice Clarence Thomas, the face of judicial malignancy, commenting on the Roe opinion leak, said people must "live with outcomes we don’t agree with" or the judiciary is imperiled.

Really? In Thomas' view, there is no recourse once the judicial kings and queens have spoken. It's how Thomas and his friends view the Court.

The United States Supreme Court is poised to issue an edict that women are no longer masters of their own bodies, and following the release of this information, Thomas reasons we have to "live" with it.

We can hope that recent disobedience to what Thomas terms an "outcome" will be the beginning of massive civil disobedience, transparency from the Court, and resulting reform that will include mandates that every oral argument, judicial memo and correspondence be revealed to the American people in as close to real-time as possible.

The institutional narcissism and unparalleled arrogance of the judicial branch, working for the police and totalitarian movements needs to come to an end.

Gov. Evers Rejects Clemency; Pardon Regime Bows to Unreliable Justice System

 Sacco and Vanzetti and Corrupt Judge - Ben Shahn

Evers' Political Grift Goes Unchallenged

Madison, Wisconsin — The Wisconsin media often reports on new pardons granted by Gov. Tony Evers. 

Facts are omitted in coverage misinforming readers about matters of grave import pertaining to our criminal justice system, the governor's power and Evers' political commitments.

Whether such misinformation is relayed purposefully, or committed out of a lack of diligence and intelligence on the part of Wisconsin journalists is beside the point. Misinformation only harms public affairs and private lives.

Tony Evers, like any Wisconsin governor, has the Constitutional power (executive clemency), to grant pardons, (grants of forgiveness restoring civil rights), sentence commutations (roughly, shortening a sentence), and reprieves, for any reason.

The gubernatorial clemency power is so broad that it is monarchical. Gov. Evers could wake up one morning and decide that only those who have completed their sentences from judges whom we know are corrupt may be granted royal relief — perfectly within the province of his gubernatorial authority.

In a piece for the State Bar of Wisconsin' journal, the Wisconsin Lawyer, past chair of the governor's Pardon Advisory Board, Donald Leo Bach, notes, "In Wisconsin, the power to pardon belongs exclusively to the governor, who can exercise it essentially in any manner the governor sees fit."

Evers' Pardon Advisory Board's website implies that criteria established for pardons and all clemency action have the force of law, but this is not just inaccurate and misleading, it is an out-and-out lie that has gained a firm footing.

"State law does not create a pardon advisory board or require its use. Instead, individual Governors decide whether to use a pardon advisory board and how to structure the board’s membership and work," notes the Wisconsin Legislative Council, IssueBrief (Oct 2019).

Advisory boards do not change Wisconsin governors' Constitutional power, but as in Evers' administration, advisory boards can serve as shields to protect politcal acts of cowardice and dishonesty on the part of the governor.

For some journalists, it is difficult to believe a politician engages in cowardice and dishonesty, so politicians' statements must be reported as fact, and not reported as self-serving statements.

Zero sentence commutations

Evers' predecessor, Gov. Scott Walker, refused to use his power of executive clemency and granted zero sentence commutations and zero pardons, in accordance with his political commitments.

Gov. Tony Evers uses his power of executive clemency, but has granted zero sentence commutations, in accordance with Evers' political commitments protecting a corrupt criminal justice system.

This aligns Evers with Scott Walker on sentence commutations, and differentiates Evers from Govs. Dreyfus, Earl and Thompson who together commuted 46 sentences between 1979-2001.

Pardons

Evers has granted 449 pardons as of March 24, 2022.

Evers set up his Governor's Pardon Advisory Board that advises him on whom to pardon.

All clemency decisions remain Evers' and his alone. To be clear, any reporting that also suggests that Evers is bound by his Advisory Board or other political adviser is erroneous.

Press coverage

One problem in press coverage is common omission of the fact Evers refuses to commute criminal sentences. When noted, Evers' refusal is followed by a paragraph re-stating that the Pardon Board's criteria disallows innocents still in prison to be considered for pardons by the Board.

Casual readers, including many in the Innocence community, conclude falsely that Evers has no choice but to follow the dictates of his own advisory board.

Evers' anti-commutation commitment seems ironic, especially in a state where law enforcement misconduct is rampant in Waupaca County, Shawano County and Manitowoc County, for example, and found throughout the state.

Why Evers adopts Scott Walker's model

Why did Evers set up his pardon regime in which applicants must wait years after serving a sentence, while simultaneously also refusing commutations?

Evers is offering political protection to the criminal justice system and law enforcement as he implicitly accepts as fact the system's findings, convictions and criminal sentencing. Evers effectively covers up for criminal justice system misconduct.

This, even as he attempts to accrue the political benefits of compassion that attend to an altogether weak and passive pardon regime.

Not once has Evers called into question dishonest cops, crooked prosecutors, or intellectually dishonest judges.

Evers could stand up against small-town injustice, police corruption and the likes of Ken Kratz, the disgraced prosecutor of Brendan Dassey and Steven Avery of Making a Murderer, (Netflix, Inc), infamy, as well as myriad other cases of injustice.

Tony Evers owes no more fealty to the Wisconsin Judiciary and the criminal justice system than he does to the findings and integrity of the state legislature. 

Evers' political commitment defending the integrity of the criminal justice system drives his execution of zero commutations and his own selective pardon criteria, stated and unstated.

Consider Brendan Dassey and Steven Avery

The 2015 Making a Murderer pulls back the curtain on Wisconsin's criminal justice system so rigorously that no official can state, 'We didn't know.'

Both Dassey and Avery were wrongfully convicted of homicide at separate trials in 2007.

Ex-District Attorney Ken Kratz was forced to resign after Gov. Jim Doyle began removal proceedings in 2010 after a favors-for-sex, harassment scandal dating back years came to light.

Kratz, fatuously claimed innocence as the DOJ investigated him, citing his narcissistic personality disorder, sexual compulsion disorder and multiple drug addictions. The Wisconsin DOJ did not press criminal charges on a fellow law enforcement official nor review any of his past cases.

Not one elected politician demanded that all of Kratz' cases, including Dassey and Avery's, be re-examined because Kratz and east-central Wisconsin police are manifestly unreliable, citing Kratz' narcissistic personality disorder, sexual compulsion disorder and multiple drug addictions, for starters.

A member of Dassey's post-conviction defense team, former U.S. Solicitor General, Seth Waxman, said in Oct 2019 in Madison, "I have never had a case that has troubled me more than this case, that has kept me awake at night, that makes me anxious and sad. And that's because I know that Brendan Dassey is innocent."

Way forward

Gov. Evers needs to set up a Conviction Integrity Unit that acts as a liaison with Innocence Projects and other human rights groups to present cases they believe to have been dealt with unjustly and corruptly.

As noted in the Innocence Project - Conviction Integrity Units - Best Practices article, truth, liberty and justice need not be sacrificed because of corruption:

[2] c. Review is in the interests of justice

It should be noted that in many jurisdictions prosecutors and courts have explicit statutory or common law authority to vacate convictions or reduce sentences in the interests of justice. It should be emphasized, however, that the orientation or mindset of an 'interests of justice' review is frequently an
important element in making a judgment about whether relief is warranted when reconstructing what occurred in old cases where there are, as in most cases, a need to resolve issues with less than perfect information.

  d. The fact that a defendant pled guilty or is no longer incarcerated should not be a bar to examining cases

We as Wisconsin citizens must demand that no elected official works to keep in prison those whom they know to be innocent, and withhold our political support until innocent men and women breathe free air.

If Tony Evers and future governors won't correct the failings of our criminal justice system, we as citizens must do so.

Wisconsin Got What It Wanted — Systemic, State Violence, Administered by the Badger Judenrat

Wisconsin Democrats administer the carceral state that sees
innocents swept off the streets and warehoused in prison,
and administrative bail-probation-parole complexes.
Municipal and other Judenrat are rewarded handsomely.

Madison, Wisconsin — The attempted destruction of the European Jews stands as the beginning of modern world history.

But not because of the defeat of totalitarianism and anti-Semitism as political systems.

Not because by-standers, compliance, and acting out of convenience in the face of moral horror became imprecatory to human affairs. 

Totalitarianism won. Hate won. 

The Judenrat won.

The fight continues, but the proposition that human beings retain rights to life and liberty is a sick joke to anyone with a fleeting understanding of American post-war foreign policy and the modern domestic police state.

Prison-state America has destroyed countless lives, and the best one generation offers now is to cancel people on social media not anointed of their taboo morality and contrived, ahistorical understanding of America and its inception.

Tens of thousands of municipalities have become mini-police states, some of the modern-day Judenrat becoming so enamored of their offices of authority, local police load up with military weapons, and face down imaginary threats to the community, in self-defense of course.

Domestically, and Wisconsin is a paradigm, many statist Democrats erected a police-prison state that shamed the cause of liberty and made the 'progressive state' the worse place to be black and brown in America. 

Police roadblocks, William Rehnquist was right jurisprudence has dominated Wisconsin Democratic Party politics for decades, though ultimately as least roadblocks and show-me-your-papers operations were rejected by voters, putting Democrat Kathleen Falk out of political business.

Who could be stupid as to not realize black and brown people doing nothing except driving do not want and deserve encounters with police as a condition of driving? Wisconsin Democrats.

Democrats are back at it of course, and any acclamation of the Fourth Amendment is met with suspicion by police-state Democrats.

Increased criminalization means giving local police more power to attack black and brown people. @GovEvers has no clue what he is doing. Defense against bogus citations and cowboy judges is impossible, and @GovEvers wants "to send a message"? This guy is a dolt. https://t.co/ixr3HFC51d

— Michael Leon (@mal644) January 2, 2019

It used to be reasonable to believe that Democrats like Gov. Tony Evers (D), Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D) were simply clueless about what police do to harm black and brown people.

This is folly. You meet a cop on the road, and your life is at risk. 

This is the way Democrats want it.

Community outrage continues today against such recent police killings in Wisconsin of Paul Heenan (Schenider, The Capital Times (2013)) (killed by Madison Police Officer Stephen Heimsness who resigned in June 2013 (Erickson, Wisconsin State Journal), Tony Terrell Robinson Jr. in Madison (Dean, The Capital Times), Michael Bell in Kenosha (2004), and Dontre Hamilton in Milwaukee (Luthern, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; Mal Contends). Too many victims to list. See also Paul Gottinger in CounterPunch.

Democratic judges are aligning with the disreputable Democratic-led Dept of Justice to keep an innocent man, Steven Avery, in prison.

Until Steven Avery and his equally innocent nephew, Brendan Dassey, are free, I will never cast a vote for any Democrat again.

Meanwhile, police repression continues in Kenosha, in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, the whole god-damn state of Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin Dept of Justice announced it is looking for a new head of the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI).

Don't worry, I'm sure the Democratic-led police operation will find the perfect man for the job.

Someone who can reliably implement solutions well.

Wisconsin DOJ is #hiring a new head of the Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). The administrator is responsible for the leadership and overall management of DCI, which investigates crimes of statewide importance in Wisconsin. Cc: @wiscjobs Apply: https://t.co/AOrPjtwIUI

— Attorney General Josh Kaul (@WisDOJ) August 4, 2021

Making a Murderer — Appellate Court Gives Avery a Defeat

In Steven Avery's quest for a second exoneration of an apparent
frame-up scheme by Wisconsin law enforcement, the State worked
successfully to block a hearing on its misconduct and numerous
Brady violations.

Dem-led DoJ Champions Disgraced ex-DA and Sex Offender, Ken Kratz.

Wisconsin Appellate Court Delivers Political Decision on Police Frame-up Scheme before Mid-Terms

Paths remain for Avery to pursue Post-conviction litigation

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — Steven Avery's quest for a second exoneration moved backward today as the Wisconsin Court of Appeals (CoA), Dist Two ruled against his request for a lower court hearing.

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

The ruling by a unanimous three-judge panel is a Court statement that the Wisconsin judiciary and Wisconsin Dept of Justice share a commitment to blocking paths to exoneration for clearly innocent people convicted, and behind bars.

With this ruling, Wisconsin joins the worst of states nationwide who work to keep innocent people imprisoned.

The ruling follows a spectacular development last April that saw witness Thomas Sowinski of Manitowoc swear in a statement that he saw the prosecution's key trial witness plant the murder victim's RAV4 vehicle on the property of the man convicted of homicide in 2007.

Wisconsin Democratic Party officials, Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Joshua Kaul, have made the political decision to work for law enforcement, including the disgraced ex-district attorney, Ken Kratz, against the wrongfully convicted.

So, it was expected in the innocence community that the Democratic-aligned appellate judges — Lisa S. Neubauer and Jeffrey O. Davis — would brush aside state misconduct and new evidence to politically support Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Joshua Kaul, who work against the innocent.

Both Evers and Kaul are running for reelection in 2022, and a scandal implicating Democratic Party elected officials would likely prove disastrous to the Party.

In order for the Court to reach its conclusion today, Democratic partisan judges who joined with Judge Paul F. Reilly had to overlook official misconduct, including evidence tampering, false testimony, multiple Brady violations and other suppression of critical information by all manner of law enforcement, including the state Dept of Justice.

The decision was met with wounded howls and derision by those who fight for the wrongfully convicted around the world.

But Avery's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, noted that there are paths still open for a clearly innocent man, even against a corrupt Democratic Party and Wisconsin judiciary.

Said Zellner in a social media post this morning, "Not deterred by the appellate court decision—-it pointed out the specific doors that are still open for Mr. Avery’s quest for freedom. We appreciate the careful review."

Not deterred by the appellate court decision—-it pointed out the specific doors that are still open for Mr. Avery’s quest for freedom. We appreciate the careful review.#Onward #TruthWins

— Kathleln Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) July 28, 2021

Still, the unmistakable message of the Wisconsin judiciary to the wrongfully convicted seems clear: Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

In the face of the Dept of Justice working to block a hearing on new evidence, the Court decided that "Simply put, Avery’s appeal cannot continue indefinitely," in effect rewarding the DOJ for its stalling tactics, and denying Avery a hearing to argue against prosecutorial misconduct.

A glaring error of fact found in the #MakingaMurderer denial - the CoA inexplicably claimed bone fragments were found in Steven's burn barrel, when in reality fragments were found in the Dassey burn barrel. This court isn't even appropriately familiar with the facts of the case. pic.twitter.com/D7bTUgwHZJ

— Making A Murderer - Need Less Things (@Presumed_Guilty) July 28, 2021

Today's ruling can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin; another motion can made at the County Circuit Court level, in accordance with today's opinion.

In a very lengthy opinion, Steven Avery lost in the court of appeals today. But court said he can pursue new claims in a new motion if he meets legal standards. The fight for truth will go on.@ZellnerLaw #MakingAMurderer #FreeStevenAvery
Opinion link👇🏻https://t.co/Gwaq7usoEP

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) July 28, 2021

But readers should make no mistake, the State of Wisconsin and the Democratic Party have worked to arrest, convict and keep imprisoned a man whom they know to be innocent.

#MakingAMurderer

Right, this is important.

If Steven can keep going then we have no excuse to wallow in defeat, we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and we go again, we continue to raise noise, we continue to research, we continue to put pressure on people.

— Eric Is Bananaman™ (@EricEatsBananas) July 28, 2021

Spoke to Steven today. He’s positive & looking forward to the next steps in the pursuit of exoneration. “I’m innocent, they can’t take from me. This is just a speed bump on the road to freedom” he said. Filing with the Supreme Court & other post conviction petitions are started. pic.twitter.com/jfGGFP1TK0

— Mark Hoddinott (@hoddinottm) July 29, 2021

Steven Avery Has Contracted COVID 19

Madison, Wisconsin — Steven Avery, featured in the Emmy-winning Making a Murderer documentary (Newsweek), has contracted COVID 19.

Avery's testing positive for COIVD-19 was announced by Avery's former attorney, Jerome Buting, and other advocates on social media.

Avery was wrongfully convicted of an attack against a jogger in 1985, and exonerated by DNA testing and released in 2003.

"Following his release in 2003, Avery filed a $36-million lawsuit against Manitowoc County, its former sheriff, and its former district attorney for wrongful conviction and imprisonment. In November 2005, with his civil suit still pending, he was arrested for the murder of Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach, and in 2007 was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole," notes a CNN report, cited in Wikipedia.

In 2005, Avery was framed by corrupt law enforcement officials in Calumet and Manitowoc counties in retaliation for his civil suit.

Just got off the phone with Steven. His voice is strong and clear. He has no respiratory issues, no fever or muscle aches. He says he is almost well and this virus is “nothing”compared to the suffering he has endured as an innocent man behind bars. #MakingAMurderer2 @TruthWins

— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) June 4, 2020

He was subsequently convicted in an area notorious for corruption and crooked law enforcement such as the district attorney, Ken Kratz, who served as chief prosecutor. Kratz was later driven from office, and then forced to resign his law license.

Avery is serving a life sentence at the maximum-security Waupun Correctional Institution.

Avery's contracting the COVID 19 was feared by advocates working for his freedom.

Wisconsin Gov Tony Evers (D) and Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D) have worked against freeing Avery and another wrongfully convicted man, Brendan Dassey.

Freeing these innocent men would result in the most spectacular law enforcement scandal in Wisconsin history that could ultimately lead to the downfall of Kaul, Evers and dozens of corrupt police and prosecutors for whom the two Democratic Party officials are working.

Avery's testing positive for COIVD-19 was announced by Avery's former attorney, Jerome Buting, and other advocates on social media.

Steven Avery has tested positive for COVID-19, and is confined to his cell. But @SandyGreenman reports he only had short-lived symptoms & is in good spirits. 🙏🏼 for speedy recovery and quick justice. #FreeStevenAvery

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) June 3, 2020

Wisconsin Wants Innocent to Remain in Prison — Misconduct Looms

The work of wrongful conviction attorney,
Kathleen Zellner will likely lead to the exoneration
of two innocent men. A second-order consequence
of Zellner's work is the exposure of the most
spectacular law enforcement scandal in
Wisconsin history that could ultimately lead
to the downfall of Wisconsin Attorney
General Joshua Kaul (D).

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — Like a cop's knee crushing life out of a man, the state of Wisconsin is determined to keep an innocent man in prison, continuing a perverse crusade.

The Wisconsin Dept of Justice filed a new brief this week in the post-conviction litigation of Steven Avery, featured in the Emmy-winning Making a Murderer documentary (Newsweek).

The State brief demonstrates Wisconsin 'law enforcement' will do anything to prevent a new trial, or even an evidentiary hearing, that shines public light on the police and prosecutorial misconduct that remains key to keeping Mr. Avery behind bars — and by extension, another wrongfully convicted man, Brendan Dassey.

Avery and Mr. Dassey were convicted for the same 2005 homicide of Teresa Halbach in separate 2007 trials that featured two mutually exclusive versions of the killing presented to juries by a prosecutor with no credibility, a disgraced sex offender — Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz, (1992-2010).

No hearing on the evidence, no new trial, nothing to see here, is the position of the State taken in the brief.

Kratz claimed misconduct that forced him to resign from office in 2010 was committed because of uncontrollable impulses he suffered relating to medical conditions that include narcissistic personality disorder, multiple addictions and his assessment that he is a "dick." [This is not hyperbole.] Kratz resigned his suspended law license after a complaint by the editor of this website, Mal Contends, that accused him of fraud, (State Bar of Wisconsin).

Kratz has not publicly commented on when his medical condition began, and whether he was suffering from his mental illnesses during the Avery and Dassey prosecutions.

The State stands by Ken Kratz' prosecutions.

The case is State v. Steven A. Avery, Appeal Number 2017AP002288.

Avery's deadline for a reply is June 11.

After the much criticized investigations of Avery and Dassey, the fraud perpetrated upon two small-town juries, the post-conviction misconduct of the State and an obstinate county court abusing its discretion stand out as well (see Work with KZ).

Avery's attorney, Kathleen Zellner, commented on the development of the State brief to Kelly Wynne in Newsweek:

'Mr. Avery is not concerned about the State's brief. It demonstrates a poor grasp of the facts, uses boilerplate language and tries to erect every procedural hurdle to obscure the real issue that Mr. Avery suffered numerous constitutional violations that should result in an evidentiary hearing and/or a new trial,' Zellner explained via email.

The State will not address its own misconduct in post-conviction litigation and virtually ignores the many claims of law enforcement misconduct that the state has demonstrably committed.

State’s brief in Avery largely deflects from merits of claims by instead arguing procedural obstacles. Brief mentions “procedurally barred” 24 times, “insufficiently pled” 24 times & “forfeited” 12 times, elevating form over substance.#MakingAMurderer

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) May 29, 2020

In a March 2019 legal filing, the DoJ argues procedural objections, as well, including Avery's charges of bad-faith evidence destruction, deceit, concealment and deception, all of which present Due Process questions, (Steven Avery legal filings; #Work with KZ, WBAY, WLUK).

This May 2020 brief continues the State strategy of avoiding mention of charged state lawlessness in appellate court, eschewing Avery's charges that the Calumet County Sheriff's Office secretly transferred evidence, the remains of a murder victim, Teresa Halbach, to private custody in 2011, in violation of state statutes that govern preservation of physical evidence collected; among other allegations.

Commenting on the State's March 29, 2019 legal filing in Newsweek Magazine, Avery's post-conviction attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said:

'Of course the State cannot address the merits of Avery's claim, because it is blatantly guilty of evidence destruction. Its charade continues without the slightest inclination to discover the truth. Significantly, one of the culprits in the whole sad scenario authored the State's Response. Unfortunately, the citizens of Wisconsin are the recipients of this mockery of justice.'

Zellner’s refers to the DoJ litigation team and Thomas Fallon, who helped oversee the decision to return the alleged human bones to the Halbach family, a scheme in direct contravention of Wisconsin statute.

So, in sum Wisconsin law enforcement has engaged in frame-up schemes, lies, misconduct and a stubborn determination to avoid even discussion of these matters in open court, as two innocent men suffer behind bars.

Avery Prosecutor Releases Video Showing Police Surveillance of Protected Attorney-Client Meeting

Steven Avery and attorney Jerome Buting are shown in an
apparently illegally produced surveillance video at the
Calumet County Jail that shows a criminal defendant
meeting with his attorney in a confidential conference.

Updated - See Related to Avery Monitoring/Video Recordings of Avery Meetings with Counsel at Calumet County Jail.

Madison, Wisconsin — Advocates working for the exoneration of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are criticizing former Calumet County District Attorney (R) Ken Kratz for his possession of and Oct. 25 release of a video that appears to show illegal police surveillance of Avery meeting with his attorney in the Calumet County Jail on an unknown date believed to be between 2005 and 2007.

Kratz is now a private citizen. Kratz can no longer practice law in Wisconsin because his law license remains suspended following his sexual assault and harassment scandal that forced his resignation in 2010.

The YouTube video is posted by Kratz as part of a series of videos to promote an update to his book that was published in 2017.

In the bizarre video entitled "Sacrificial Lamb," Kratz appears to advocate for Brendan Dassey despite the fact Kratz prosecuted Dassey for the 2005 homicide of Teresa Halbach. Legal observers and human rights advocates regard the Dassey prosecution and conviction as a miscarriage of justice.

Law enforcement surveillance of the attorney-client meeting in the video begins at the five-minute, two-second mark. The law enforcement camera looks over the shoulders of attorney Buting.

The confidentiality of the attorney-client relationship is a hallmark of the American criminal justice system and of the American legal profession, (Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute).

Wrote Buting on social media on a pined (featured) Tweet on Oct 26:

This is first I have seen of surveillance video during atty-client jail mtg with SA. This was confidential mtg room reserved for attys, no camera was visible & no notice that we were being recorded. Thanks @Ken723Ken for deciding to #workwithKZ by releasing this. 🤗 @ZellnerLaw https://t.co/TiMMpOYJJQ

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) October 26, 2019

Buting's Tweet makes the point that Kratz inadvertently revealed more law enforcement misconduct in the video that could work in Avery's favor as he pursues post-conviction litigation.

Writes Buting in a follow-up:

@Ken723Ken disclosure on Friday that Calumet Jail secretly videoed SA’s atty-client mtgs is yet another explosive revelation in this case. Camera was pointed so SA’s lips could be easily read. All should be shocked at these unconstitutional tactics. #MakingAMurderer @ZellnerLaw

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) October 26, 2019

Questions raised by Kratz' video include:

How did Ken Kratz come in possession of this law enforcement video when he is now a private citizen?

How closely is Kratz still working with Wisconsin law enforcement?

Was the Avery legal team made aware of the existence of the surveillance video?

Observers believe the existence of the surveillance video may provide more grounds for appeal in Steven Avery's post-conviction litigation.

The Wisconsin Dept of Justice is currently defending the misconduct by law enforcement in the Avery case.

The case is State of Wisconsin v. Steven A. Avery, Appeal Number 2017AP002288.

For updated legal filing and explanations, see Work with KZ.

Wisconsin Gov and Atty General Side with Sex Offender — Ex-DA Ken Kratz

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — Reaction to the Brendan Dassey clemency petition filed this week with Gov Tony Evers (D) reveals much about the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's refusal to stand up against wrongful convictions.

Every Democratic Party of Wisconsin elected official — every municipal, county, state and federal elected official — is silent to the wanton state cruelty inflicted upon the innocent.

After repeated efforts by WISC TV (Madison) asking Evers for comment on the Dassey petition, Gov Mush finally allowed that "We give every pardon application careful review and consideration."

Wow. That's progress.

But nothing from Evers about the grotesque interrogation of a cognitively and linguistically challenged 16-year-old Dassey thrown to two tree jumpers doubling as Wisconsin law enforcement. Nothing about the prosecution perpetrated by the sex offender, serial liar, the disgraced ex-district attorney Ken Kratz.

Evers as governor is vested with the constitutionally unqualified power to grant a pardon and commutation with the stroke of a pen for any or no reason, (Article V, Section 6 of the Wisconsin Constitution). Whatever criteria Evers may think "proper" are all that drive legal consideration of petitions. Pardons and commutations are Evers' decision and Evers' alone.
 ---
Evers is in bad company with Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D).

Kaul is actively defending the conviction of Steven Avery, alleged to be Dassey's conspirator by the sex offender Kratz.

Kaul even defends the work of Calumet County Sheriff Deputy Jeremy Hawkins, Sheriff Mark Wiegert, and DoJ attorneys Thoman Fallon and Norman Gahn who illegally conspired to destroy evidence that they claimed is the biological remains of a murder victim. [That state appellate case is State v. Steven A. Avery, 2017AP002288. For updates, see Workwith KZ.]

Wisconsin puts on a sad show in it routine destruction of lives by corrupt law enforcement. But thanks to the work of four women, Evers, Kaul and every other Democratic Party do-nothing cannot say they didn't know about the sick pursuit of and crimes perpetrated against the innocent.

"This gentle human being is Brendan Dassey, he does not have a violent bone in his body." Katerina Majerczak

Brendan's supporters were not swayed by a movie. MAM was a point of entry but many used it to dig deeper into the case. Others like me, @lauranirider, Seth Waxman, Dr. Sally Miles, 4 federal judges, et al. dug deep & found injustice in the record. Dig deep, Gov. Evers. Dig deep.

— Steven A Drizin (@SDrizin) October 4, 2019

Brendan humbles every person who is fortunate to know him. We care, because he is innocent, we care because of who Brendan is #BringBrendanHomehttps://t.co/etTsviPqys

— Tracy Keogh (@TracyKeogh2) October 4, 2019

So WI Department of "Justice" doesn't care about justice in Brendan's case. They want him to rot in prison because they can't admit they went after innocent 16 yr old boy to convict his uncle.#makingamurderer#cjreform https://t.co/hLxeFy3MfC

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) May 10, 2018

To read the petition and other extensive documents related to the Dassey case, see Laura H. Nirider, Robert J. Dvorak, Steven A. Drizin and Seth P. Waxman.

Wisconsin Ex-DA Drops Pretense as Practicing Atty: Follows Complaint with Lawyer Regulation Office

Update: Disgraced former district attorney Ken Kratz resigned his suspended law license after a complaint by the editor of this website, Mal Contends, (State Bar of Wisconsin).
 --
Madison, Wisconsin — Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz (R) was chased into resignation and disgrace in 2010 following assault and sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by several women, (ABC News, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel).

In his defense, the sex offender Kratz claimed he is an addict and victim of a medically diagnosed  Narcissistic Personality Disorder that made Kratz uncontrollably arrogant — transforming him into a "dick," as termed by Kratz in 2016, (p. 13, Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Huffington Post).

The dick is back.

Following years of Kratz falsely purporting to be a practicing private attorney in Wisconsin, Kratz has now dropped this pretense after the intercession of the Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) last Summer.

Referee Jonathan Ziesner notified the author, Michael Leon, of a June 19, 2019 grievance against Kratz that Kratz "has made several changes in response to your grievance."

The grievance reads in part:

Kratz was fraudulently portraying himself as an active-status attorney with a license to practice in good standing. ...

Further, an examination of Mr. Kratz’ historical information maintained by the State Bar of Wisconsin and Office of Lawyer Regulation reveals that from 2014 to 2019, Mr. Kratz’ license to practice law in Wisconsin was suspended for discipline, and for administrative deficiencies, a status continuing today. [See attached exhibit.]

In falsely advertising his ability to practice law with a suspended license between 2014-2019, Mr. Kratz has committed a continuing act that reflects adversely on his honesty, trustworthiness and fitness as a Wisconsin  lawyer.

The grievance includes several exhibits that show Kratz purporting to be an attorney in his social media profiles including Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and Linked-In as late as June 2019.

Kratz used the false description to fraudulently promote himself to 1,000s of rightwing social media followers.

Kratz is infamous as the corrupt prosecutor of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey convicted for the murder of Teresa Halbach, featured in the Emmy-winning Making a Murderer docu-series, (Netflix, Inc.).

Kratz engaged in a character assassination tour against Avery after Kratz' resignation that included Kratz writing a letter to Avery under the auspices of his disbanded law firm. In the 2015 letter, Kratz taunted Avery for legally seeking exoneration in post-conviction litigation.
--
In other recent developments. Steven Avery's attorneys signaled they will file a massive brief in state appellate court on October 14, 2019 in closely watched post-conviction litigation.

The case is State v. Steven A. Avery, Appeal Number 2017AP002288.

Meanwhile, Kratz announced in social media that the publisher of his 2017 monograph on the Avery-Dassey case will release an updated paperback version this year. ---

Wisconsin's Manitowoc and Calumet counties continue as a haven for corrupt law enforcement that brings continuing condemnation from attorneys and other human rights advocates as among the worst in the country.

This cop was so confident framing people you can tell he’d been doing it to hundreds of innocent people. Right in front of his partner, who probably knew. Likewise, I believe Manitowoc’s brazen evidence planting against SA probably came after years of successful corruption. https://t.co/M6Rkq7f2Ra

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) September 20, 2019

Steven Avery's Motion Denied at Wisconsin Circuit Court; Adverse Ruling Was Expected

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — A ruling handed down yesterday in Manitowoc County Circuit Court is an adverse ruling for Steven Avery, the protagonist and defendant in Wisconsin's Making a Murderer post-conviction litigation.

The Aug 8 decision and order in online here.

But the adverse ruling from Sheboygan County Judge Angela W. Sutkiewicz (substituting) was long predicted by advocates for Mr. Avery, an innocent man framed by corrupt law enforcement and prosecuted by a sex offender, former Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz.

Judge Sutkiewicz was ordered in a Feb 25, 2019 state appellate court ruling to "conduct any proceedings necessary to address the claims raised in the supplemental postconviction motion ... ."

As no hearings were ever even scheduled, a reasonable reading of the denial is that Sutkiewicz simply ignored the appellate court ruling in this case.

Avery's attorneys, Kathleen Zellner and Steven G. Richards, filed a supplemental (additional) motion for relief, asking for a court order "reversing the judgment of his [Avery's] convictions and sentence and ordering a new trial," (McDonell-Parry, Rolling Stone Magazine), (p. one. March 11, 2019 Supplemental § 974.06 Motion for Post-Conviction Relief Pursuant to State's Violation of Wis. Stat § 968.205 and Youngblood v. Arizona).

The Circuit Court ruling and analysis are expected to be posted online at Work with KZ this weekend.

The Wisconsin prosecution is led by Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D) who has employed  the legal services of corrupt state attorneys including Mark Williams, Asst Attorney General and Special Prosecutor Thomas J. Fallon, and Special Prosecutor Norman Gahn.

Fallon and Gahn argue that key evidence they helped destroy was "inexplicably released" from the Calumet County Sheriff’s Department’s evidence control unit in their March 29, 2019 legal filing, (p 13).

A brief is expected to be filed with the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District Two soon.

A quiet confidence among advocates remains now that the corrupt Judge Angela W. Sutkiewicz has issued her expected adverse ruling.

Sutkiewicz' decision appears rushed and less-than-scholarly; her logic less so.

Sutkiewicz writes it is not enough for the defense to allege exculpatory value of destroyed evidence, (p 8).

One problem with this reasoning is the state and prosecution also inferred the exculpatory value of destroyed evidence through the state's own conclusion the remains are the victim's, hence of potential exculpatory value.

In fact, DoJ attorneys Fallon and Gahn themselves believed that bones they conspired to give to the Halbach family are human. Fallon and Gahn write the bones were "inexplicably released" from the Calumet County Sheriff’s Department’s evidence control unit in their March 29, 2019 legal filing.

Sutkiewicz argues the remains of the murder victim's bones that the state illegally gave to the victim's family are not conclusively the victim just because the state believed so.

Judge AS💐decision on State's destruction of bones: Eisenberg didn't conclude with certainty Quarry bones were human, so they aren't victim's remains, even though State gave them to Halbach family as TH's remains. 🙄 Lots of assumptions made w/o hearinghttps://t.co/ycIiOwzEIm

— Jerome Buting (@JButing) August 9, 2019

Asst Attorney General and Special Prosecutor Thomas J. Fallon, and Special Prosecutor Norman Gahn illegally conspired to destroy evidence, the victim's remains, and now the judge is ruling the state should profit from their illegal act.

Looks to me like the decision is confirming that there's nothing identifying Teresa Halbach. They have ID enough to tell a jury it was TH to fight to put him in prison, but no ID in giving the same remains back to the family as he fights to get out? Halbach's bury chicken bones? pic.twitter.com/joUvqIsXJE

— TickTockManitowoc (@TManitowoc) August 9, 2019

Writes attorney Kathleen Zellner:

Avery update: We are thrilled to be returning to the appellate court after all of this time!!!!! #SilverLinings @lifeafterten @michellemalkin #MakingAMurderer2

— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) August 8, 2019

Wisconsin DoJ Maintains Silence on Steven Avery Wrongful Conviction

Madison, Wisconsin — There is not a specific crime in the Wisconsin Criminal Code for a police frame-up committed for the purpose of wrongfully citing, arresting and convicting an innocent.

Police routinely engage in lying, character assassination and frame-ups in fabricating false police reports, testilying (purjury) and evidence manipulation.

But it takes a particularly insular, corrupt and self-entitled department to manufacture and destroy evidence for the purpose of a murder frame-up—Manitowoc County, for example. The Wisconsin Dept of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation is another.

But for Wisconsin's top law enforcement official, there's nothing to see here.

Faced with the discredited work of the disgraced Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz (1992-2010) that resulted in the wrongful convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey, Attorney General Joshua Kaul (D) has chosen to defend Kratz and others' dishonesty, evidence concealment and destruction by first avoiding even a mention of these acts of state lawlessness in post-conviction litigation, and now engaging in silence before the Manitowoc County Circuit Court to which Wisconsin v. Avery has been remanded.

Kaul also chose silence when two appellate attorneys representing the DoJ were caught red-handed trying to deceive Avery's attorneys and the Court in an errantly placed phone call in February 2019.

The State's silence is deafening. Not so easy to unring the bell of evidence destruction. @lifeafterten @Newsweek @BBCWorld @michellemalkin #MakingAMurderer2 #RunningbutnotHiding

— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) March 26, 2019

Kaul has chosen silence because he cannot credibly defend lawlessness.

Wisconsin Admits State Gave Murder Victim's Family 'Many Bones' — Confirming Assertions Made by Wrongfully Convicted Man's Attorney

Kathleen Zellner, depicted above in image, has shown
beyond serious dispute Wisconsin has framed, destroyed
exculpatory evidence, and secretly broken state laws, all
to convict and protect the convictions of two innocent
men. Though disgraced jurists like Ken Kratz, Josh Kaul,
and many others characters employed by the Wisconsin
Department of Justice do not know it, the truth has a way
of coming out even in Wisconsin. Image from
innocence supporter, JamesBond 007, UK.

Cover-up Continues, as Attorney General Still Opposes Hearing on Destruction of Evidence

Madison, Wisconsin — The state of Wisconsin admitted that law enforcement and prosecutors secretly gave the family of murder victim Teresa Halbach her bodily remains, a 2011 illegal scheme that the state variously claimed is either delivery of animal bones or human bones.

The 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach and the frame-up of wrongfully convicted Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey are featured in Making a Murderer.

"The State has confirmed with us that they did in fact give 'many bones' back to [Teresa Halbach's] TH’s family. They have no proof they gave notice to SA [Steven Avery] or his attorneys = violation state law [and] due process," writes Avery's post-conviction attorney, Kathleen Zellner.

FYI: The State has confirmed with us that they did in fact give “many bones” back to TH’s family. They have no proof they gave notice to SA or his attorneys =violation state law & due process. @RollingStone @BBCWorld @Newsweek #MakingAMurderer2

— Kathleen Zellner (@ZellnerLaw) February 19, 2019

The admission is significant because, as Zellner told Newsweek, "This admission proves these bone fragments were returned to the family and it is undisputed there was no notice given to Steven Avery or his attorneys and that violates Wisconsin law, ... When any of these bones were returned to the Halbach’s Wisconsin State law and due process were violated. The State has confirmed returning many of the bones to the Halbach’s so the court should grant our motion to stay and remand."

Yes, the appellate court should grant the motion.

But lawyers at the Wisconsin Department of Justice do not want to appear in Sheboygan County Court, the jurisdiction to which the case would be remanded or sent back, and explain in a public hearing why the state violated state law in giving likely exculpatory evidence to the family of a murder victim.

It's unclear why the DoJ attorneys are worried.

Sheboygan County Court Angela W. Sutkiewicz is a prosecutor's judge.

Sutkiewicz will flack and cover for the state of Wisconsin. Even if a video surfaced with law enforcement discussing ways of framing Steven Avery, Sutkiewicz would rule, 'nothing to see here,' and this is no new evidence.

Sutkiewicz substitutes her affinity for prosecutors in place of neutral adjudication. To be accused means you have no rights, to be convicted means law enforcement can do no wrong, in what passes for Sutkiewicz' legal mind in Wisconsin.

In 2017, Sutkiewicz rejected Steven Avery's request for a trial made through his post-conviction attorney, Kathleen Zellner.

Sutkiewicz issued her ruling and opinion without ordering and conducting an evidentiary hearing on Kathleen Zellner's 1,200-page post-conviction motion, replete with expert forensic testimony and analyses.

"The judge criticized the defense conclusions as 'speculative' and based on 'interim opinions' by experts," notes Heavy. com.

On June 14, 2018, Avery through Zellner filed a motion for judicial substitution of Sutkiewicz, (Fox-11, Digital). The state of course objected to the motion for a new judge, (Fox-11 News).
---
Sutkiewicz' court is a first procedural step for what in most states would already be a conviction that would have been vacated or reversed.

It's likely Kathleen Zellner has gamed out the procedural map dozens of steps into the future.

It's just as likely, should Avery's conviction not be reversed or vacated, Avery's case will eventually appear before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, where the population will learn what a Brady motion violation is, and why the state's Brady violations should also result in vacating the wrongful conviction.

Zellner's explosive motion Jan 24, 2019 seeking a hearing because the Calumet County Sheriff's Office secretly transferred evidence, the remains of a murder victim, Teresa Halbach, to private custody in 2011, in violation of state statutes that govern preservation of physical evidence collected, subject to criminal investigations is being adjudicated. So, we wait.
---
In other developments, Avery advocates report that numerous Twitter accounts —  advocating DNA testing and law enforcement abiding by state law —  have been mysteriously shut down in actions apparently traced to persons close to the disgraced ex-district attorney and sex offender, Ken Kratz.

Kratz prosecuted Avery and Brendan Dassey, pleading two contradictory accounts of the same murder, in violation of Wisconsin ethical rules for prosecutors.