Crime & Safety

Judge May Not Have Authority to Deny Incest Charge in Johnson Sex Case

A letter from the State Attorney General's office states that once the Court of Appeals got involved, Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz should not have made decisions about amending charges or scheduling a trial date for Curt Johnson.

The judge who denied prosecutors' request to charge SC Johnson heir Curt Johnson with incest instead of child sex assault may have spoken too soon.

The Attorney General's Office sent a letter Wednesday to Judge Eugene Gasiorkiewicz outlining how, because certain parts of the case are currently under review by the Second District Court of Appeals, he didn't have jurisdiction to make any decisions. Assistant Attorney General Rebecca St. John also wrote the scheduled trial date of April 23 is on hold unless or until the appellate court issues its opinion.

Johnson was charged March 23, 2011 with . The Racine County District Attorney's office filed on Feb. 15 to have charges amended to include three felony counts of incest. Gasiorkiewicz denied the motion because it missed the Jan. 23 deadline given during Johnson's Jan. 9 status hearing.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The appeals court has two requests stemming from this case—one each from prosecutors and defense attorneys based on a November decision where the judge said that while the victim in the case may keep her medical records sealed, she will also be allowed to testify. ; the prosecution wants the court to simply order the release of the records, and the defense wants the victim barred from testifying if she doesn't release her records.

But now, the letter from the Attorney General's office puts any rulings from Gasiorkiewicz in question and essentially puts the brakes on the trial's start as well.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Because the Court of Appeals received the case on Jan. 27, that is the date the court lost its authority to proceed, Assitant Attorney General Rebecca St. John wrote. The Attorney General's Office is handling the appeal for the state.

"The state believes all such acts this court took after January 27 are void, including this court's Feb. 17 order striking the amended information" the letter states. "The state also believes this court lacks competency to hold a trial during the interlocutory appeal. The court of appeals has not remanded this case outside (that state statute), let alone for trial."

According to Carrie Jantow at the Court of Appeals, a writ of prohibition has not yet been filed by any parties. Patch has messages in to the District Attorney's office as well as to both of Johnson's defense lawyers about where the case goes from here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant