Kozlowski's defense asks for change of venue
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BY ROD STETZER rstetzer@chippewa.com
Tuesday, May 2, 2006 10:55 AM CDT
Michael J. Kozlowski can’t get a fair shake from Chippewa Valley media and should have his trial moved to St. Croix County, according to a motion and affidavit filed last week.
The truck driver from Schereville, Ind. has pleaded not guilty to 33 charges in an Oct. 16 crash that killed five people aboard a bus carrying students and staff of the Chippewa Falls Marching Band.
Kozlowski’s semi overturned on Interstate 94, near Osseo, and was hit by a Chippewa Trails bus returning from a band competition in Whitewater.
Killed in the crash were marching band director Douglas Greenhalgh, 48, his wife Therese, 51, and their 11-year-old granddaughter, Morgan Greenhalgh, along with bus driver Paul Rasmus, 78, of Chippewa Falls, and Brandon Atherton, a 24-year-old student teacher.
Diane Wiley, president of the National Jury Project Midwest based in Minneapolis, filed the affidavit at the request of defense attorney Earl Gray.
Wiley focused only on Eau Claire-based media, and did not include coverage by The Chippewa Herald.
She said the Leader-Telegram carried 79 newspaper articles about the crash, while television stations WEAU and WQOW had 114 separate broadcasts.
“The news coverage I have reviewed is very one-sided against Mr. Kozlowski and presumes he is guilty. In contrast, as would be expected, the coverage is extremely emotional in relation to the deceased and injured,” Wiley wrote.
One source of prejudice against Kozlowski is that he is an outsider from Indiana, she said. Wiley then pointed out several articles that had kind things to say about Rasmus.
“These comments are a stark contrast with what potential jurors know from the news coverage about Mr. Kozlowski which is that he is 22, had a suspended license, had speeding tickets and had been out partying the night before the accident,” Wiley writes.
She goes on: “There have been repeated descriptions of the ‘evidence’ against Mr. Kozlowski in the press and broadcast media. News stories reported that eyewitnesses saw erratic driving prior to the collision, that Mr. Kozlowski was drinking, could not have slept as much as he said.”
Wiley called “particularly offensive” one article she claimed ran in the Leader-Telegram.
“In a Dec. 26, 2005 article, Mr. Kozlowski was lumped in with Steven Avery, Chai Soua Vang, Terry Ratzmann and the Rev. Ryan Erickson on the first page of the city-region section . . . under the title ‘Murder and mayhem.’ Three of the others were convicted of heinous multiple murders, and Mr. Avery was charged with a horrendous killing.”
The majority of the Leader-Telegram’s coverage has been negative toward Kozlowski, Wiley said. “In contrast, there have only been two articles presenting anything to counter the negative news coverage, and they have not been given prominent placement in the paper,” she wrote, noting Jan. 13 and Feb. 1, 2006 articles were run on Pages A6 and A3, respectively.
Wiley also criticized part of the coverage by one of the TV stations.
“WQOW in particular went into great detail about the allegations against Mr. Kozlowski in a sensational matter,” she claimed.
Gray maintained during a February court preceding that Kozlowski was a victim of the accident on Interstate 94 near Osseo.
Reach Rod Stetzer at rstetzer@chippewa.com.
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