What should have been a two-day trial over accusations of reckless endangerment with a firearm ended in a mistrial with the realization that the defendant’s attorney had not requested “discovery” or read police reports from the incident.
Michael Cline, 45, of Lodi, faces three counts of second-degree reckless endangerment with a weapon, three counts of pointing a firearm at another, possession of a firearm while intoxicated, and two counts of disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon.
The charges stem from an incident on June 8, 2020, in which a Columbia County sheriff’s deputy responded to Cline’s home on State Road 113 in the Town of Lodi where there was a reported domestic dispute in which Cline had pointed a handgun at three different people while yelling racial slurs.
Cline was arrested and the next day charged before being released on a signature bond, over time fighting the charges, with a trial set for July 21.
On July 20, a jury was selected and July 21, the first of two days scheduled for trial. Before opening statements, defense attorney Charles Kenyon Jr. requested a copy of the District Attorney’s “discovery,” the legal information and facts of the case. Kenyon explained that apparently through a mix-up, those documents were not with him, and he would need a copy from the District Attorney’s Office to proceed.
Judge Todd Hepler allowed the openings postponed for another few minutes: “We’ll take a break for about five minutes and then we’ll bring the jury in--something that should have happened 10 minutes ago.”
Following the break, District Attorney Brenda Yaskal explained, that Kenyon had never asked for discovery, never received them, and apparently not read the available police reports.
Kenyon told the court that there was “no explanation and no excuse,” hypothesizing that he ordinarily would request information following a preliminary hearing, which had been waived in this case. Kenyon told the court that he would be self-reporting to the Office of Lawyer Regulation, the state authority that investigates grievances, allegations of misconduct, and ethics breaches among Wisconsin attorneys.
Hepler pointed out that in the current case, conviction on one count could carry up to 10 years in prison for Cline, with up to about 30 years of potential incarceration involved among all the charges.
“I have a very good jury empaneled, we have two days set aside,” said Hepler giving the attorneys another recess in order to see if there were any aspects of the case that could be handled within the next two days that the court had been scheduled for trial.
After a short break, the parties were brought back into the courtroom where Kenyon requested that the judge declare a mistrial with Yaskal agreeing and a new trial to be set in the future.
Court costs of the two-day trial were ordered to be assessed to Kenyon, to which he did not object. In one month, Cline is due to appear in the event of a plea agreement. Cline was asked to decide whether he would continue to be represented by Kenyon within the next week so a new trial can be placed on the court calendar.
According to the OLR online database, Madison-based Charles K Kenyon Law Offices has been recognized as being in good standing, with no public disciplinary history.
