Attorney Brian F. Bennett's Legal Cases

Criminal defense

Oneida County jury finds Kaukauna man guilty of burglarizing murder house

Oct 27, 2016

OUTCOME: Loss at Jury Trial, Win at Sentencing

DA Argues for a lengthy County Jail Sentence in Burglary Case, Judge Orders 30 days and stays the same for months after argument. Oneida County district attorney Michael W. Schiek had recommended th ... at Spietz be placed on 2-3 years of probation and sentenced to 6-9 months jail, also arguing Spietz took the property for his own personal use and that a jail sentence would deter others from wanting to steal from residences involved in foreclosures. Spietz’s attorney, Brian F. Bennett, noted his client still believes he is innocent of the charges for which he was convicted by a jury, and removing the property was a “misunderstanding” of what Spietz was allowed to do at the residence. Bennett argued against a jail sentence when he sought probation for his client and also claimed the difference between this case and other burglary cases is the “nature of the address.” http://www.starjournalnow.com/2016/10/27/month-in-jail-imposed-in-burglary-case-at-ayers-home/

Criminal defense

Mistrial declared in child sex abuse case Jury unable to reach verdict on either charge

Oct 16, 2015

OUTCOME: Hung Jury, No retrial

"A mistrial was declared Wednesday evening in the case of a 27-year-old Rhinelander man accused of inappropriately touching two young girls in 2013. The 12-member jury deliberated for nearly five ho ... urs before telling the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked. The jury's inability to reach a unanimous decision on Joseph A. Kaiser's guilt or innocence on the two counts of first-degree child sexual assault (sexual contact with person under age of 13) prompted Branch II Judge Michael Bloom to declare a mistrial in the case at 11 p.m. The jury was sent to the jury room to deliberate at 5:50 p.m., after closing arguments from assistant district attorney Jodi Bednar-Clemens and Kaiser's attorney Brian Bennett." Link: http://www.rivernewsonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=47&ArticleID=69812

State, local, and municipal law

Walters to keep job after lengthy hearing

Jan 19, 2015

OUTCOME: Win

Tammy Walters will remain Oneida County's veterans service officer after the county board last week threw out six of eight charges against her and unanimously rejected a request that she be fired. S ... upervisors came to that conclusion after a multi-month investigation and a 10-hour hearing Wednesday, Jan. 7, that drew a large crowd. Though Walters could still face lighter sanctions, the most serious consequence -- termination -- is off the table. "I'm just really overwhelmed right now," Walters said shortly after the hearing ended Wednesday evening. "It's been the least-pleasant experience of my life." [...] In his closing argument, Bennett argued the charges against Walters were trumped up. He said Charbarneau could have helped Walters resolve some of the issues that led to the charges before they occurred -- specifically, that Charbarneau was aware Walters was planning to let the volunteer use her security key card to access the Veterans Service Office. "This was never really about following the employee handbook," Bennett said. "This was about setting up a fellow department head to take the fall." Link: http://www.rivernewsonline.com/main.asp?SectionID=6&SubSectionID=59&ArticleID=65814

Brian F. Bennett's Legal Cases (3)

Oneida County jury finds Kaukauna man guilty of burglarizing murder house

Mistrial declared in child sex abuse case Jury unable to reach verdict on either charge

Walters to keep job after lengthy hearing