Local jury banned by judge after ruling man innocent By Catherine Trevison Of the Tribune staff La Crosse County Circuit Judge Peter Pappas has barred 12 jurors from ever serving on a jury again because they found a man innocent. And the move has drawn the ire of a defense lawyer, who says his client can't get a fair trial. Pappas would not comment Wednesday on the accusation made by John Wabaunsee, a lawyer who works for the state public defender's office in La Crosse. Wabaunsee has asked Judge Michael Mulroy to reinstate the eligibility of jurors who served at a disorderly conduct trial Nov. 29, and to draw a new jury pool. The circuit courts select jurors from a pool of 200 people at any one time. Wabaunsee said his client, a man accused of child sexual assault, can't get a fair trial because the exclusion "has contaminated the entire array of people chosen," Wabaunsee said. Their names are now in a file with those of people who are permanently excused for things such as mental infirmity, commission of a felony, or the inability to read and write English. Mulroy denied Wabaunsee's request because he said Wabaunsee should have brought the issue before Pappas. Members of the all-female jury contacted Wednesday said they hadn't known why they were excused. They said they did remember that the judge seemed angry with them after the verdict. "The look the judge gave us was incredible," said juror Kimberly S. DeCora. "If looks could kill we all would have been dead." DeCora said the defendant was acquitted because the prosecution's witnesses contradicted each other when testifying. "They didn't have their stories straight," she said. Juror Betty L. Woodford said she felt the jury made the right decision. "It wasn't a decision made to get away (from the courthouse)," she said. "We felt he was innocent of what he had been accused of." Woodford said she had been looking forward to jury duty in the future, and felt she and the other jurors were treated unjustly. "We were on trial and we didn't even get a chance to plead innocent," she said.