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Juror, witness confrontation leads to new trial

By: Associated Press//July 29, 2014//

Juror, witness confrontation leads to new trial

By: Associated Press//July 29, 2014//

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A 60-year-old Oneida man will get a new trial on a drunken driving charge after a defense witness got into an argument with two jurors.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Gerald Blasczyk on Tuesday.

Blasczyk was charged in May 2011 with operating while intoxicated with 10 or more previous offenses after another driver found him passed out in his Jeep, which was still running.

A third man, Frank Vandehei, testified that he had been driving the Jeep, not Blasczyk. After testifying, Vandehei confronted a juror in the parking lot about a question the juror asked during his testimony. A second juror was there during the confrontation.

According to the appeals court, that confrontation could have influenced the jurors during deliberations, and Blasczyk deserves a new trial.

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