Family seeks charges against ex-Tosa cop in public 'John Doe' hearing
WAUWATOSA, Wis. - The family of Jay Anderson Jr., shot and killed by then-Wauwatosa Police Officer Joseph Mensah in 2016, is petitioning a state court to appoint a special prosecutor and file charges.
The court case falls under a "John Doe" hearing, which normally is done in secret. A hearing on Thursday, Feb. 25, though, was done in open court -- and even livestreamed.
Milwaukee County Judge Glenn Yamahiro said a lot of work went into making sure the hearing was available for all who wished to see.
The Anderson family is seeking a criminal complaint to be filed in the 2016 shooting death. Mensah shot and killed Anderson in Madison Park on June 23 of that year.
Joseph Mensah, Jay Anderson Jr.
The shooting was ruled justified by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. However, Thursday's hearing brought under a specific statute that permits a judge to file a complaint if the judge finds probable cause.
"It is also, typically, required to be public. So that is why we are here today," Yamahiro said Thursday.
Milwaukee County Judge Glenn Yamahiro
The hearing has been adjourned until March 12.
Attorneys for the Anderson family want Mensah and Wauwatosa Police Chief Barry Weber to testify. The legal teams representing Mensah and Weber are set to argue that their clients should not testify.
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What is a 'John Doe' hearing?
In 1969, Wisconsin Assembly Bill 603 completely redrafted the state's laws relating to criminal procedure.
It added a subsection regarding complaints, that "if a district attorney refuses or is unavailable to issue a complaint, a county judge may permit the filing of a complaint, if he finds there is probable cause to believe that the person to be charged has committed an offense after conducting a hearing…"
Chapter 255 of 1969 Assembly Bill 603 (Courtesy: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau)
The purpose, the bill states, is to provide "a check upon the district attorney who fails to authorize the issuance of a complaint, when one should have been issued, by providing for a judge to authorize its issuance."
"This was put in as a safeguard," said Michael McCann, a former longtime Milwaukee County district attorney. "If a district attorney declined, then there would be at least some review by a judge."
Michael McCann
McCann said it's important to note that judges have a lot of discretion in these cases -- with some important distinctions.
"In other words, the standard under which Judge Yamahiro is working, probable cause is definitely a standard substantially lower than the district attorney’s standard when the district attorney is going to proceed to trial," McCann said.
A district attorney must be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.
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