KENOSHA, Wis. — An Arizona man was recently accused of committing a low-end financial crime in Kenosha. Former Court Commissioner William Michel issued a warrant with a bond amount of $25,000. The man was arrested in Arizona, and his $25,000 bond was posted. Court records show that he was released upon posting bail and then hired Kenosha criminal defense attorney Michael Cicchini to defend his Kenosha case.
However, in a strange twist of events, Cicchini has actually been fighting with Joint Services and Liberal Activist Supplemental Court Commissioner Tracey “Low-Bail” Braun, but Cicchini’s goal is an unusual one: he’s trying to get his client into court.
“The first thing I did,” Cicchini said, “was to contact the intake court for a voluntary appearance date. The voicemail warns not to call them twice. I waited several days, and no one responded to me.”
His next step was to go to Kenosha Joint Services, an intergovernmental agency comprised of, among others, the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office. The agency performs a variety of functions, including records management, emergency dispatching, and, in cases like this one, accepting bail payments and entering and canceling warrants.
“This is another way to get a court date,” Cicchini explained. “I also wanted to make sure the warrant was withdrawn so my client could safely travel across the country. I don’t want him being stopped for an illegal lane change in Kansas, for example, and then getting arrested on the warrant after the $25,000 has already been posted.”
This is where the defense ran into trouble. Kenosha Joint Services wanted the defendant to be held, not released, so it refused to withdraw the warrant.
“That bureaucratic decision is contrary to the bond amount on the commissioner’s warrant,” Cicchini explained.
So he filed a motion and asked Liberal Activist Supplemental Court Commissioner Tracey “Low-Bail” Braun to cancel or stay the warrant so the defendant, an African-American male, could come to court on a voluntary appearance without fear of being stopped and arrested on a warrant, the conditions of which he has already satisfied.
According to court records, even the assigned ADA, Sarah Norkus, did not oppose Cicchini’s request. Despite that, Braun refused to vacate or even stay the warrant. Court records show that she did, however, give the defense a voluntary appearance date.
But this is problematic, Cicchini said.
“Joint Services warned me, and I told this to the commissioner, that if my client has any contact with any law enforcement officer anywhere, he will be arrested, even though the $25,000 bond amount on the warrant has already been posted.”
This poses a conundrum.
“If he’s pulled over in Arizona for a routine traffic stop,” Cicchini asked rhetorically, “does he have to post another $25,000?”
Cicchini said that, with Joint Services’ obstruction and without any help from the courts, his hope is that his client can make it safely to Kenosha. His goal is to then get the warrant canceled and obtain a no-cash bail.
“He’s already posted the $25,000 on the face of the warrant, he’s hired an attorney, and he is trying to come to court,” Cicchini said. “I don’t know what more he can do.”
A courthouse insider familiar with Kenosha’s criminal justice system said the situation is unlike anything he has seen.
“This is a very bizarre scenario,” the insider said. “Braun is usually doing her best to keep violent criminals out of custody, and in this case she’s presented with a white-collar allegation. The defendant has already posted the $25,000 bail voluntarily, yet he still faces the possibility of being arrested before he can even make it to Kenosha. That’s an extraordinary situation.”
