April 27, 2015 at 4:25 p.m.
Schiek balancing Martinson's right to fair trial with public's right to know
Schiek balancing Martinson's right to fair trial with public's right to know
Schiek declined to answer any question unrelated to court procedure.
"I'm not going to really get into any discussion about the facts of the case," Schiek said. "Today, Ashlee Martinson did have her initial appearance before Judge (Michael) Bloom, Oneida County Circuit Court Judge. The state filed an amended criminal complaint. It did not change from the original criminal complaint, I simply added additional information, which was attached to the criminal complaint, in the form of a supplemental police report. Obviously, we did obtain additional information after we filed our original criminal complaint, which does contain most of the interviews and additional information through the investigation. At this point in time, she is represented by Thomas Wilmouth and Amy Ferguson. She did waive time limits, which means that a preliminary hearing was scheduled, that's the next court appearance. At this point, Judge Bloom did set a cash bond in the amount of $750,000, which was requested by the state. And there are several conditions if she is able to post that bond: no contact with any of the children whose initials are named in the complaint, as well as not being able to leave Oneida County."
During the brief court appearance, Schiek asked Bloom to set a high cash bond, somewhere between $500,000 and $750,000. He cited factors that should be taken into consideration when bond is set, such as whether the defendant is a flight risk, the gravity of the offense, potential penalties.
"That's the rationale that the court has to use to make a determination and Judge Bloom did make that discussion on the record," Schiek said
When asked if the media coverage of the case could hinder either the prosecution or the court's ability to find an impartial jury, Schiek said steps are being taken to minimize that possibility.
"We would anticipate that coming, but what we are trying to do, in conjunction with the defense attorneys, is provide procedural information, which is what we are doing today," Schiek said. "My goal in this is to obtain a fair trial for the defendant, she is presumed innocent at this time. But I also have to balance that with the media's right to report and the community's right to understand what's going on. So we're trying to do that, there's a fine line."
Schiek added that while the updated police report attached to the amended criminal complaint sheds new light on the events of March 7 when Martinson is accused of killing Jennifer and Thomas Ayers, her mother and stepfather, more information will come out during the preliminary hearing on June 5 (See related story).
"A lot of information will be coming out from the preliminary hearing, which will provide testimony, so you will be able to obtain additional information at that time," he said. "The preliminary hearing is a statutory right, not a constitutional right. It is designed to provide enough information to the court to determine if there is probable cause that a felony has been committed. The requirements have been relaxed a little bit in the last few years, hearsay is now allowed in those hearings. So they are not what I would consider mini-trials. So we will probably just be calling one witness," Schiek said.
"Can I ask if that is going to be Captain (Terri) Hook?" a reporter asked. "Yes, anticipated, yes," Schiek replied.
When asked if the recent alleged burglary of the crime scene (Dan J. Mohr, 18, of Rhinelander is alleged to have taken several of Martinson's drawings from the Ayers' home) had caused him to have any concerns about the security of the home, Schiek replied it didn't.
He was also asked if he might request additional counsel from the Wisconsin Department of Justice to help with the prosecution of the case.
"I have not requested that at this time, but it's certainly something that is an option," he said.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
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