Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Mark Moran granted the defense’s request for a competency exam for former campground owner Ann Retzlaff on Dec. 11, even as the defendant claimed she fired her attorney.
Moran noted he couldn’t hear any other motions or requests, including the one where defense attorney Michael Hughes was no longer serving Retzlaff, as long as competency was in question. He said that there were other motions filed by someone else besides Hughes but were not scheduled for the hearing that day.
The motion for the competency exam was filed Nov. 3, according to online court records. District Attorney Greg Parker said he had no objection regarding the exam.
When Moran asked the attorneys if there were any victims that wished to speak in accordance with Marsy’s Law, Retzlaff replied: “I am a victim of this case.”
Both Retzlaff and Hughes appeared via Zoom, so there was little Hughes could do to keep Retzlaff from interrupting the proceedings aside from urging her not to ask the court questions. That was when Retzlaff claimed she terminated Hughes the day before the motion for the competency hearing was filed.
“He is requesting the competency exam because he and I have fundamental differences in law,” Retzlaff said. “I believe in God and the Bible and that our laws are based on the Ten Commandments and all of our laws are derived from that to include the maxims of law. That does not mean that there should be a competency exam.”
Retzlaff claimed she only agreed to utilizing Hughes’ services because she wasn’t able to communicate with Parker directly.
“He wasn’t returning my emails, my phone calls,” Retzlaff said. “I even tried to visit him personally, and the door was actually slammed in my face in Shawano County.”
Retzlaff said that if Parker had an offer to be discussed, it should be done at that hearing. She also claimed Hughes had not been able to communicate with Parker on the case.
“We’ve been working on this since May of 2021, your honor,” Retzlaff said. “I want this done. I want to move forward and get on with my life. I am still incarcerated with excessively high bond, and why? Because the DA’s office is failing to do his job and put this offer on the table, so if you could order DA Parker to do his job, that’d be great, your honor.”
Retzlaff was charged May 2021 in Shawano County with felony counts of fleeing and eluding officers and two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, as well as a misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer from a police pursuit. She also faces misdemeanor charges through Menominee County for resisting and failing to stop.
After missing court in November 2021 and later being arrested again in April 2022 on body-only warrants, she faces additional charges of bail jumping and disorderly conduct. She paid $15,000 to be released in August 2022 but then missed a hearing earlier this year, prompting Moran to issue nationwide bench warrants, and she was arrested in Oconto County in August, which resulted in two more bail-jumping charges being added.
Retzlaff remains in the Shawano County Jail, where the bond for all charges totals $57,000.
Moran reiterated that all other motions were on hold until the issue of competency was resolved, but noted that Hughes and Parker were able to have discussions in the meantime.
“We’re not going to proceed to any other hearings at this time,” Moran said. “There were some submissions made that were not submitted by attorney Hughes — I’m not sure who made those submissions, and I’m not even sure if those submissions were made by someone who is licensed to practice law.”
Among those was another request for bond modification filed Dec. 8. Hughes, in a hearing in October, had tried to get the bond reduced without success.
Retzlaff pointed out that, in her case in Sauk County, the judge there claimed she was competent to proceed there. Retzlaff is facing five counts of criminal slander of title and two felony bail jumping charges after allegedly filing false liens against representatives with Bank First and the new owner of the former Annie’s Campground, now known as On the Rocks Family Kampground.
“She asked me a few questions and determined that I was competent to represent myself in Sauk County Court,” Retzlaff said.
Moran countered that there’s a difference in competency requirements when representing one’s self versus being able to communicate with an attorney.
Retzlaff is claiming that “Brady material,” along with “missing” 911 tapes from Menominee County, have not been provided to her or Hughes.
“They do exist, and they’ve been suppressed by the prosecutor,” Retzlaff said. “This is prosecutorial misconduct.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Competency exam granted for Retzlaff
