Jury selection continues Tuesday in the trial of a Milwaukee man accused of six homicides and seventy other criminal charges for allegedly using his vehicle to hit people during Waukesha's Christmas Parade last November.
Monday's first day of trying to choose a jury for the trial of Darrell Brooks got behind schedule when Brooks kept arguing with the Waukesha County Chief Judge Jennifer Dorow, as he often did during two hearings last week.
The Monday disputes began right away when Brooks, who is representing himself, questioned whether he would have to follow rules of decorum in the court. Finally, with Brooks speaking at the same time, Dorow said:
"Sir, I am not here to have a debate with you. Stop because this is what will happen, sir. If you keep interrupting me, I'll remove you from the courtroom. Then we'll take a break, and then we'll come back on, and then we'll start up again," Dorow said.
Dorow allowed Brooks back in the courtroom after one recess. But when he continued to act in a way she regarded as disruptive, the judge ordered more breaks. Eventually, Brooks was sent to an adjacent courtroom, where he could watch the proceedings on a computer, with only bailiffs in the room.
Brooks was quieter for a while, so he was allowed back in Dorow's courtroom at the beginning of Monday afternoon's session. But then Brooks questioned the constitutionality of Dorow using the alternate courtroom for him.
"I'm not a child. I don't have to be put in a holding cell until cooler heads prevail, quote-unquote. You're not explaining why that can be lawful when I'm supposed to be present for all proceedings," Brooks said.
Based on case law, the judge replied that being in the next courtroom but connected by computer qualifies as Brooks being present.
"I have an obligation sir, to ensure that this trial follows simple rules of courtesy and decorum. I have an obligation to ensure there's not only a fair trial, but that this trial goes forward. I have an obligation to you. I have an obligation to the victims, and that's what I'm going to follow," Dorow said.
Eventually, jury selection did get underway, with Brooks in the adjacent courtroom. For a long while, the defendant either held paper over his face or pulled his suit jacket up and put his head on the table. He also asked that all 41 of the initial potential jurors interviewed be struck from the case. Later, he calmly took part in having just a few potential jurors sent home.
Dorow said more potential jurors will be interviewed Tuesday morning, with a goal of finding 16 to hear the case.
