Sequestered jury expenses in Sherman Park shooting trial — $32,000, and counting

The cost of sequestering the jury in the Dominique Heaggan-Brown trial is likely to top $32,000, according to preliminary tabulations from the Milwaukee County clerk of courts.

The jury acquitted the former Milwaukee police officer Wednesday of a reckless homicide charged filed months after he fatally shot Sylville Smith, 23, during an on-duty chase last August, which set off two days of violent unrest and arson in parts of the Sherman Park neighborhood.

In an email, Milwaukee County Clerk of Court John Barrett released the following expenses Thursday, and said not all invoices have been received:  Hotel, $20,023.00; transportation, $2,000.00; weekend activities, $3,328.60; and meals, $6,577.84. 

Barrett did not indicate which other expenses might still be added to the final cost.

The jury was selected June 12, and sequestered through five days of trial and two days of deliberating, a total of nine nights. Some sheriff's deputies also stayed with the jurors throughout the trial.

It was the first time in at least 20 years a Milwaukee County jury had been sequestered.

Heaggan-Brown's attorney had requested sequestration months ago, while their request for an out-of-county jury or change of venue was pending.  

Circuit Judge Jeffrey Conen denied the change of venue or outside jury but agreed to order the sequestration of local jurors, who were also treated as anonymous, and addressed only by a number during the jury selection process and throughout the trial.