Posted on 02/19/2006 1:15:30 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
MADISON, WI (AP) -- For more than three years, state Rep. Scott Jensen has fought felony misconduct charges against him before various judges.
Starting Tuesday, he will fight them before a jury of his peers.
Barring a last-minute deal, the Republican lawmaker who once led the state Assembly will go to trial this week on three felony misconduct in office charges and a misdemeanor count for allegedly using his public position for private gain.
If convicted on any of the felony charges, he faces expulsion from public office along with the possibility of prison time.
His trial begins at a time when polls show the vast majority of Wisconsinites do not believe lawmakers represent their interests, scandals have gripped the nation's capital and the governor is fighting off questions about his own fundraising practices.
"Let's just say this: I'm glad I'm not going to trial with my client next week," said longtime defense attorney Franklyn Gimbel, who represents one of the other lawmakers charged in the scandal that spawned charges against Jensen.
Jensen, R-Waukesha, is the last of five lawmakers charged in 2002 after media reports detailed allegations that legislators were using their taxpayer-funded staffs - called the caucuses - to run campaigns and collect political contributions. Also charged was former GOP aide Sherry Schultz, who prosecutors allege Jensen put on the state payroll solely to raise money for Republican candidates.
Attorneys for Jensen and Schultz - who also faces a felony misconduct in office charge - did not return calls seeking comment last week. Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard, who will lead the prosecution, declined comment.
Jensen relinquished his position as Assembly speaker - the chamber's top spot - after the charges were filed. But he landed softly.
Current Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, appointed Jensen to the Legislature's budget committee - one of the most coveted spots in the Capitol - and he is still well regarded by his GOP peers. Jensen had only third-party opposition in 2002 and no one bothered to challenge him in 2004 for his seat representing an overwhelmingly Republican district.
But a conviction on a felony charge could end Jensen's political career. Wisconsin law bans felons from holding office, and lawmakers are now considering a measure that would prohibit convicted felons from lobbying.
Eighty-eight percent of Wisconsin residents surveyed last fall said elected officials were representing their own interests or those of special interests. Only 6 percent believed elected officials often represented constituents' interests on important issues.
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said that atmosphere has only grown worse as scandals have erupted in Washington, D.C., involving U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and a lobbyist accused of influence peddling. A Wisconsin Department of Administration employee was charged last month with two felony counts for allegedly steering a state contract to a company whose executives gave $20,000 to Gov. Jim Doyle.
Heck, whose organization lobbies for campaign finance reform, said the trial will remind people how lawmakers routinely broke the law to power their campaign machines and feed into that atmosphere of anger and cynicism.
"If nothing else, it will mark the end of an era in Wisconsin politics," said Heck, once a caucus employee himself. "Hopefully, it will mean people will learn some lessons from all of this."
Former state Sen. Brian Burke, D-Milwaukee, was the first of the lawmakers charged in the probe, hit with 18 felony counts in June 2002. He was also the first to strike a deal with prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty to one felony county and a misdemeanor.
Since then, Chuck Chvala, Bonnie Ladwig and Steve Foti have reached deals with prosecutors, avoiding a trial. Chvala, a Madison Democrat who served as the Senate majority leader until shortly after he was charged, began his nine-month jail term last week.
Ladwig and Foti - both Republicans who served in leadership positions under Jensen - have agreed to testify at Jensen's trial as part of their deals.
Jensen had planned to argue at trial that lawmakers had used state employees for decades to collect political donations and do campaign work while on the state's payroll. But a judge rejected the argument earlier this month, undercutting the heart of Jensen's defense.
Jensen has filed numerous appeals over the past 3 1/2 years, raising various objections to the charges all the way to the state Supreme Court without success.
He has argued what he is accused of doing did not violate state law, that state statutes did not adequately warn him he could face felony charges for what he is accused of doing and it was impossible to separate what is considered allowable legislative activity and prohibited political work under state statutes.
Gimbel said the judge's decision to bar Jensen's arguments that legislative leaders had long done what he is accused of had "emasculated" his defense. That leaves him with a defense that he had no intent to break the law, a common defense in white collar crimes.
"He wasn't out of town when the activities occurred, so he doesn't have an alibi. It's not like there's a coercion or mental illness defense," Gimbel said.
"Brace Yourselves for Republican Bashing and Guilt By Association this Week," Ping.
My, that reads like beautiful music! Chvala was the nastiest POS in politics, anywhere. I look forward, 20 years hence, to reading a Where Are They Now? piece on Chuckie, working as a grocery store bagger at that point.
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