Posted on 02/28/2005 2:59:27 PM PST by Ladysmith
HAYWARD, Wis. (AP) - Attorneys for a man accused of shooting six deer hunters to death and wounding two others in northwestern Wisconsin plan to file motions by Tuesday's deadline.
One of Chai Soua Vang's attorneys, Steven Kohn, would not say what the motions will be or how many will be filed, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported in Sunday's editions.
Legal experts have said likely defense motions could include reduced bail, a change of venue from Sawyer County and suppression of statements Vang made to investigators without an attorney present.
Vang, of St. Paul, Minn., pleaded not guilty Dec. 29 to six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Prosecutors say shooting broke out after Vang was asked to leave a deer stand on private property northeast of Rice Lake on Nov. 21.
Prosecutors added a third count of attempted homicide after determining Vang had allegedly tried twice to kill one of the hunters.
Vang is being held in Sawyer County Jail on $2.5 million bail.
Kohn, who is representing Vang with fellow Milwaukee attorneys Jonathan Smith and James Mentkowski, also confirmed to the newspaper that Marquette Law School professor Daniel Blinka has been added to the defense team. He declined to specify what role Blinka will play.
Blinka, a former Milwaukee County assistant district attorney, also declined comment. He has taught at Marquette for 20 years, including courses on advanced evidence, criminal procedure and investigation, and constitutional law.
Sawyer County Judge Norman Yackel set Tuesday as the deadline for filing motions.
The judge rescheduled three days of hearings on the motions from April 27 to June 8, but the scheduled trial date remains Sept. 12.
Ping to article. Thanks, ButThreeLeftsDo, for the head's up.
Thanks for the update!
Anybody know if peg lautenschlagger is still planning on being the lead prosecutor in this case?
As far as I know, she is.
Thanks for the update.
Are you going to this??!
Thanks for the pings. This case isn't much in the news, and will be easy to lose track of.
No doubt. If it wasn't for others keeping their eyes open and alerting me, I wouldn't be hearing anything either.
I wish I could. that is only about 4 hours from me, but it conflicts with a prior appointment I have for tomorrow.
Yeah, I'm figuring that by the time I leave town, I would be late anyway. Bummer. Would like to get involved with at least ONE FReep in my lifetime! LOL!!
Tuesday update: http://kstp.com/article/stories/S6631.html?cat=1
The account from today's Star Tribune mentions also that one of the motions includes a request to have the jury sequestered. I smell an effort discourage prospective jurors with this move.
In another motion, attorneys asked the judge to supress statements Vang made to investigators without an attorney present. That would include any confessions he reportedly made during that time.
Smith said efforts to throw out Vang's alleged confession were being made because he had not made the statement voluntarily and he was not properly informed of his constitutional rights.
http://kstp.com/article/stories/S6631.html?cat=1
HAYWARD, Wis. - Attorneys for the Minnesota man accused of shooting six deer hunters to death and wounding two others in northwestern Wisconsin filed several motions today, including a change of venue. Jonathan Smith, an attorney for Chai Soua Vang, said in documents filed Tuesday that he wants the trial moved out of Sawyer County. He said his client could not get a fair trial there because of pretrial publicity and what he described as "racial and cultural overtones." In another motion, attorneys asked the judge to supress statements Vang made to investigators without an attorney present. That would include any confessions he reportedly made during that time. Smith said efforts to throw out Vang's alleged confession were being made because he had not made the statement voluntarily and he was not properly informed of his constitutional rights. Smith said he and other attorneys met with Vang in the Sawyer County Jail across the street from the courthouse before filing the motions. "We don't talk about how our client is doing," he said. "He has been appraised of things."
Other motions filed by the defense include a request for the video recording of Vang's questioning by police, and a request for one of the charges against Vang to be dismissed.
The count in question is an attempted murder charge. At issue is whether Vang should face two counts because the victim had been shot twice.
A fifth motion was filed under seal. Vang, of St. Paul, pleaded not guilty Dec. 29 to six counts of first-degree intentional homicide and three counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide. Prosecutors say shooting broke out Nov. 21 after Vang was asked to leave a deer stand on private property northeast of Rice Lake. Vang is being held in Sawyer County Jail in lieu of $2.5 million bail. Sawyer County Judge Norman Yackel had set Tuesday as the deadline for filing motions. The judge rescheduled three days of hearings on the motions from April 27 to June 8. The case is set to go to trial Sept. 12.
Thanks for the update in #12. I agree with your idea of discouraging jurors if they are sequestered. I bet they will move the trial somewhere else; just wonder where.
from the link:
"He said his client could not get a fair trial there because of pretrial publicity and what he described as "racial and cultural overtones"
How about Madison? Nice, fair, liberal little hamlet?
Some excerpts from today's Star Tribune article:
Racism toward Hmong immigrants and a "frenzy" of publicity would make it "nearly impossible," for accused hunter-killer Chai Vang to get a fair trial in Sawyer County, Wis., his attorneys asserted in court documents filed Tuesday.
In asking for a change of venue for Vang's trial in September, attorney Jonathan Smith of Milwaukee, said that community grief and outrage are so strong that it would be hard to get an impartial jury, unless the trial is moved or jurors are brought in from somewhere else.
In addition, Smith said, the case appears to have inflamed negative attitudes toward Asians, immigrants and even Jews. As evidence he cited fliers left in driveways by a group calling itself the National Vanguard.
The fliers refer to Vang as an "Asian killer" and identified one of Vang's attorneys, Steven Kohn, as Jewish.
Smith wrote that this and other attitudes reveal "racial and cultural overtones" that make a venue change necessary.
"Such negative attitudes toward Jews, immigrants and the Hmong may well not be reflective of the predominant attitude in Sawyer County," he wrote. But, he added, it would be difficult to get prospective jurors to "admit to harboring these antisocial, negative attitudes for fear of being labeled a racist, bigot, and/or ignoramus."
LOL! I'm guessing they will try to move it to St. Paul, where he lives - it has a large Hmong population.
Are you serious?! Where'd you hear that?! Gads, we have Hmong all over the place in this state!
You know, if they continue with the racecard, it's going to backfire big time...
Please put me on. This is a very important case to me. I want to see how much the "poor discriminated against minority" theme hijacks the trial
The Wisc attorney general is the worst damn hack and should not be allowed to prosecute. She will bend this toward politically correct group think
JLO is funnin' ya. Minnesota has NO jurisdiction in this one.
I didn't hear it. I said I was guessing. I don't want to start any rumors, lol!
That was my first thought. But then I started thinking of the McVeigh case, as that was moved to Colorado. So I wasn't too sure.
Bad bad JLO!! You fooled me, I didn't read this close enough!
Isn't there some way it can be taken from Keg?
"Isn't there some way it can be taken from Keg?"
Okay...is that a typo or some sort of inside Wisconsin joke?
WI joke - relates to her DWI. ;o)
How about Laos?
Ha! Actually, I wasn't fooling; I think they will try to bring it to MN. I don't have a clue about change of venue legalese. It's just what I think they may try.
Guess we'll have to wait and see where they want to change it to. I'll put down a plug nickel to bet on St. Paul.
Oh, you are bad! LOL!!!
I'll see your plug nickel and raise you a dinged-up dime that it stays in Wisconsin. ;o)
Ok - you're on, LOL! Now, if we can just remember this, come September...
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