Stingl: Washington County Board member shows up in a clown suit at his seat belt trial

Mark McCune admits it was a Bozo move to show up for his day in court dressed as a clown, from the wild wig right down to the giant shoes.

He was there to fight a $10 ticket for a seat belt violation, but the judge stopped the trial before it could begin and made it clear he was even less amused than most people who encounter a clown these days.

"I don't know why he's dressed like that. I don't want to know why he's dressed like that," Municipal Judge Steven Cain said in court that day, June 13, in the Village of Jackson.

That's in Washington County where McCune, 49, is an elected member of the County Board. He's also a bank vice president.

"I apologize to everyone I've offended, and that includes any clowns out there," McCune said when I called to ask him how he could possibly think this stunt was a good idea.

He thinks his seat belt prosecution had become a circus, so he dressed the part. "Full clown regalia" is how the riled judge put it, calling the move a mockery of justice.

"I am incensed that he has come to this court dressed like that. It's insulting to the court. It's insulting to me. It's insulting to the prosecutor. It's insulting to the system in general," Cain said.

He then recused himself from the case because there's no way he could be fair and unbiased after coming face to funny face with McCune. The trial was reassigned to Menomonee Falls and set for Aug. 1.

That will mark nearly a year since McCune was pulled over in his Ford truck by Village of Jackson Police Officer Justin Brinks. On Aug. 8, 2017, Brinks looked over at McCune's vehicle on Highway 60 and was not able to see a seat belt.

It turns out McCune was wearing the belt, but he had tucked the strap behind his left arm because it was sore from a gym workout that morning, and then over his belly. So in his defense, McCune was not entirely seat belt-less.

Brinks explains to him in the dash cam video that the state's click-it-or-ticket enforcement project he's on does not allow for warnings, though he could get an excuse from his doctor. The ticket angers McCune, who lets a couple F-bombs fly and zooms away.

He mailed back the citation and indicated he was pleading not guilty. His lawyer, Joseph Abruzzo — that's right, McCune brought a lawyer into a $10 case — met with the village attorney, James Danaher.

McCune decided he was willing to pay the $10 fine, but not to admit guilt. He thought that would end it.

"They originally said, sure, that's OK, we'll send you the paperwork, several times. Then all of a sudden, I don't know what happened, but they said, oh, no, you've got to go to court. That's the part that seemed irrational and like a circus," he said.

And so the plan to play a clown at that circus was put in motion. McCune had kept the costume from the early 1990s when he entertained children at Lions Club charity events as a stand-in clown.

"Back then I was JoJo," he recalled.

On the day of his trial, McCune put on the clown costume and makeup at home and drove to the Jackson Village Hall, one of many locations in Washington and Ozaukee counties where the Mid-Moraine Municipal Court sets up shop to hear local cases.

He considered driving his wife's old Volkswagen Beetle, thinking it seemed like more of a clown car. But he opted for his truck because it has air conditioning and the suit was hot.

Didn't his lawyer try to stop him from committing muni court suicide?

"I don't remember what he said, but I'm sure he would have discouraged me from wearing the clown suit," McCune said.

He sat in the back row of the boardroom-turned-courtroom while the judge met privately with the two lawyers. Unfortunately, no one snapped a photo of the defendant clown, at least as far as I can tell. 

Understandably, McCune declined to send me a photo of him as a clown, though he did provide a pic of the big shoes. Witnesses in court described the get-up as a white wig, hat, white face paint and black lipstick, a green suit splashed with other colors and the comedic shoes.

"The only thing he was missing was a red nose," a Police Department employee said.

McCune said he did not anticipate the judge dressing him down for dressing up.

"He has every right to, and I apologize. If I would have known I was going to upset someone like that, I would not have done it. And I didn't even get to tell my story," McCune said.

Kathleen Buth, clerk of Mid-Moraine Municipal Court, said that in 27 years in the job she has never seen someone come to court in a costume like this, though she has encountered a couple rascals who insisted on paying their fines in pennies.

Jackson Police Chief Jed Dolnick said McCune was disrespectful to his officer, who remained cool and friendly throughout the encounter, and to the court. 

"Now our taxpayers will bear the cost of moving the case to Menomonee Falls," he said.

McCune isn't sure if he'll go to trial again, but he knows this much:

"You won't see me there in a clown suit, I can tell you that."

Contact Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or jstingl@jrn.com. Connect with my public page at Facebook.com/Journalist.Jim.Stingl