January 7, 2013 at 4:22 p.m.
Court to hear motion to dismiss England case
Court to hear motion to dismiss England case
The long-awaited motion hearing has been rescheduled a few times in recent months as other issues in the case have been worked out. England is facing four felony charges of misconduct in office in connection with accusations she used tissue and organs from the bodies of deceased people, without permission, for the purpose of training dogs to find cadavers.
With charges filed in both Oneida and Forest counties, the England matter had been handled by multiple prosecutors.
The appropriate venue for the case had also been questioned. Most of England's appearances have been in Forest County even though the case has few ties to that county and only a single charge was filed there.
At a court hearing in December, those issues were resolved. Forest County Circuit Judge Leon Stenz dismissed the Forest County case. The charge will be refiled in Oneida County, where England is now scheduled to make all of her court appearances.
There will also be a sole prosecutor on the case. Judge Stenz appointed Forest County District Attorney Charles Simono.
In a brief filed in support of his motion to dismiss, England's attorney, Joel Hirschhorn, calls the language in the state statute cited in the complaint against England "vague."
While England may have violated "ethics and good conduct" there is nothing that can definitively say her behavior went against the lawful capacity of the medical examiner's office, Hirschhorn argues.
Charges against England, 45, were first filed in January of last year. The investigation began the day after England and Det. Sgt. Shannon Murray of the Oneida County Sheriff's office traveled to Fond du Lac to deliver a body to be autopsied. According to the criminal complaint, Murray observed England "picking tissue" from a bag near a body being autopsied and placing it in a plastic container. On the return trip to Rhinelander, Murray reported that England talked about also taking a piece of spinal column from the body they had transported together in order to use it to train her dog.
Murray relayed what she had seen and heard to Lt. Jim Wood. As a result of the subsequent investigation, two more felony charges of misconduct in office were eventually filed against England last October. One of the complaints alleges that England used the cremated remains of a person during a dog training session in December 2011 in Madison with other law enforcement. According to the complaint, England offered the cremains to the other dog handlers.
The second complaint identifies another deceased person that England allegedly took tissue from and gave to the other dog handlers in Madison. The deceased person was identified from tissue that had been sent to the state crime lab for analysis.
Hirschhorn argues that while England may have had access to the bodies of the deceased people because of her position as medical examiner, her actual actions were separate from her performing the official duties of her office. He describes England as a "civilian on a personal frolic."
He also says the state statute requires that a person knowingly commit acts they know are beyond their office's lawful authority. Hirschhorn notes in the motion that the statute language doesn't clearly define what would be the "lawful capacity" of the medical examiner's office, and that England's candidness with Det. Sgt. Murray shows that she didn't consider her actions illegal.
In its response, the state argues that there is "nothing obscure" about the statute, that England was clearly working in her official capacity as medical examiner when she removed tissue from bodies, and that she knew - and admitted - she didn't have the authority to act as she did. To bolster that argument, the state cites the fact that England allegedly told Murray that the funeral home didn't need to know about her actions.
In a Dec. 28 reply, Hirschhorn says that England didn't take any further steps to cover up her behavior or actively prevent Murray from relaying information. The claim that England was aware her actions were illegal are "speculative at best," Hirschhorn argues.
Each of the four misconduct in office charges against England is a class I felony that carries a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison.
Kyle Rogers may be reached at [email protected].
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