Bice: Supreme Court candidate once ordered 71-year-old juror to jail for courtroom outburst

What does a juror have to do to get thrown into jail? 

It depends, of course, on the judge. 

If the jurist happens to be Sauk County Judge Michael Screnock, we know exactly what it takes for a potential juror to end up in the slammer overnight. 

That's because Screnock, a conservative running for the state Supreme Court, ordered Loren Wilhelm, a 71-year-old resident of Plain, to go to jail for his outburst during jury selection in December. 

Asked about the incident, a Screnock campaign official declined comment. 

"Judge Screnock has made clear from day one of this campaign that he holds the rule of law in the highest regard, and as such it would be inappropriate to comment on cases that are pending in his court," said Sean Lansing, spokesman for the judge.

Screnock is facing off against Madison attorney Tim Burns and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet on Tuesday. 

In early December, Screnock was overseeing the three-day trial of John Lomax, a Wisconsin Dells resident facing 40 felony counts of child pornography. 

During jury selection on the first day of the trial, Wilhelm bellowed out his thoughts on the case.

Lomax's lawyer, Joseph Viney, said as far as he can remember, Wilhelm said, "This is (expletive). The guy is guilty, and this is a waste of time." Viney declined further comment. 

The Baraboo News Republic cited a source who said Wilhelm referred to Lomax using a derogatory name and declared that he was guilty.

Reached last week, Wilhelm said he didn't want to discuss the matter.

After the outburst, Viney argued the remarks tainted the jury pool and that the judge should start the process over. The prosecutor disagreed. Eventually, the judge agreed with the assistant district attorney.

But first, Screnock decided to question Wilhelm, known as juror No. 36 in the case.

"Court has juror who spoke out (#36) come into the courtroom and testify from the witness stand re: what he said in court earlier," said the online record. 

The judge was apparently not happy with what he heard. The online record said: "Court admonishes #36 re: what he said. Court finds him in contempt and orders he sit in jail until 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. Court security takes #36 into custody."

Wilhelm then spent the evening of Dec. 4 in the Sauk County Jail. The next day, an apologetic Wilhelm relayed to the judge that he spoke out during jury selection because the case reminded him of a family member who was sexually assaulted years ago. 

Several lawyers contacted in recent days called the move highly unusual but probably not unprecedented.

One pointed out that former Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Jacqueline Schellinger, well known for erratic behavior, found a juror in contempt and fined her $500 for responding to an order by jerking her head back and rolling her eyes. That was 2002. 

As for Lomax, he was convicted of all 40 felony counts. The jury reached its decision in less than two hours. All that remains is for Screnock to hand down his sentence. 

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.