MONROE - Citing the unlikelihood of finding an impartial jury in Lafayette County, a judge ordered this week that a jury will be brought in from outside the Dane and Lafayette county media markets and sequestered as it hears the case against Armin Wand III, the Argyle father accused of setting his house on fire to kill his pregnant wife and four young children.
Green County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Vale issued the order Wednesday, Dec. 12 in response to a Nov. 13 request for a change of venue to outside the Madison media market by Wand's attorney Guy Taylor, who cited intense media coverage of the case. Vale was assigned to the case after Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge William Johnston approved a request for a substitution of judges, also in November.
Wand, 33, is charged with eight felonies in connection with the Sept. 7 fire that killed his three sons, ages 7, 5 and 3. Wand's wife, Sharon Wand, 27, lost the baby she was carrying but survived the blaze and continues to recover at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. Wand's youngest child, a 2-year-old girl, survived the fire.
Wand's younger brother Jeremy Wand, 18, is also charged with helping his brother set the fire in their plot to cash in on life insurance settlements.
Vale ordered a jury be brought in and sequestered for Armin Wand's jury trial, set for February. In his order, Vale noted "there are no strangers in a county with a population as small as Lafayette County." He said there is a high probability that potential jurors in Lafayette County will either know one member of the Wand family directly, or will have spoken to someone who knows the family. Likewise, witnesses will also likely know potential jurors in Lafayette County.
Additionally, the case has generated "considerable news coverage" from television news stations in Madison, as well as newspapers from Darlington, Monroe, and Madison. This "coverage has permeated the community," he wrote, and has been "inflammatory."
"Coverage has been intense since the case started and continues now. It is this court's conclusion that coverage and interest in the case has not dissipated over time and is unlikely to," the judge wrote.
After considering these factors, Vale wrote, "it is highly unlikely that an impartial jury could be seated from a Lafayette County jury pool."
According to state statutes, a jury may be brought in from out-of-county if the jury will be sequestered, and if bringing the jury in would be cheaper than moving the trial to a new location.
Vale wrote that given the nature of the case, the court will order to sequester the jury to prevent jurors from speaking with media or other outside parties. Moving the trial would incur costs associated with transporting and housing witnesses, the defendant and deputies, and Vale estimated it would likely be cheaper to bring jurors into the county.
He noted bringing the jury in would also be easier for community members who wish to attend the trial.
Green County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Vale issued the order Wednesday, Dec. 12 in response to a Nov. 13 request for a change of venue to outside the Madison media market by Wand's attorney Guy Taylor, who cited intense media coverage of the case. Vale was assigned to the case after Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge William Johnston approved a request for a substitution of judges, also in November.
Wand, 33, is charged with eight felonies in connection with the Sept. 7 fire that killed his three sons, ages 7, 5 and 3. Wand's wife, Sharon Wand, 27, lost the baby she was carrying but survived the blaze and continues to recover at University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. Wand's youngest child, a 2-year-old girl, survived the fire.
Wand's younger brother Jeremy Wand, 18, is also charged with helping his brother set the fire in their plot to cash in on life insurance settlements.
Vale ordered a jury be brought in and sequestered for Armin Wand's jury trial, set for February. In his order, Vale noted "there are no strangers in a county with a population as small as Lafayette County." He said there is a high probability that potential jurors in Lafayette County will either know one member of the Wand family directly, or will have spoken to someone who knows the family. Likewise, witnesses will also likely know potential jurors in Lafayette County.
Additionally, the case has generated "considerable news coverage" from television news stations in Madison, as well as newspapers from Darlington, Monroe, and Madison. This "coverage has permeated the community," he wrote, and has been "inflammatory."
"Coverage has been intense since the case started and continues now. It is this court's conclusion that coverage and interest in the case has not dissipated over time and is unlikely to," the judge wrote.
After considering these factors, Vale wrote, "it is highly unlikely that an impartial jury could be seated from a Lafayette County jury pool."
According to state statutes, a jury may be brought in from out-of-county if the jury will be sequestered, and if bringing the jury in would be cheaper than moving the trial to a new location.
Vale wrote that given the nature of the case, the court will order to sequester the jury to prevent jurors from speaking with media or other outside parties. Moving the trial would incur costs associated with transporting and housing witnesses, the defendant and deputies, and Vale estimated it would likely be cheaper to bring jurors into the county.
He noted bringing the jury in would also be easier for community members who wish to attend the trial.