Court rejects appeal in threatening letters case

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First Amendment protection does not apply to threatening letters a Wisconsin Rapids man sent to jurors who convicted him of threatening two judges four years earlier, the Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.

A Wood County jury in 2006 convicted Donald Maier, 52, of making threats to former circuit Judges Ed Zappen and James Mason. After serving a two-year prison sentence, he sought to have his convictions overturned.

Maier did that, in part, by sending a letter to 10 of the 12 jurors who convicted him in 2011. When one of the jurors talked to the local newspaper about it, he sent a second letter that said “I read the paper too,” though added that “you have nothing to fear from me,” according to the court’s opinion.

According to the appeals opinion, which was authored by District II Judge Paul Lundsten, Maier wrote to the jurors that “My [prior] letter was not threatening in any way. I just want to let you see what kind of idiots you helped put me in prison. I feel Judge Zappen and Judge Mason were two of the biggest corrupt gangsters in Wood County.”

That letter earned him another arrest, six stalking convictions and an additional 15 years in prison, followed by 12 years extended supervision. Maier appealed, arguing the letters were protected by the First Amendment and did not legally qualify as “true threats” – which do not enjoy free-speech protection.

But the Court of Appeals rejected that argument.

“Maier views the content of the letters in a light most favorable to him, not in a light most favorable to the verdict,” according to the opinion.

The opinion went on to show how several parts of the letters can be seen as menacing.

“Maier’s first letter begins by stating ‘Jury Duty is Not Over,’” according to the opinion. “One reasonable view of this language is that Maier is ominously saying: ‘You may think your service as a juror is over, but I’m not done with you yet.’”

The opinion also shot down claims that Maier’s attorney for the stalking trial, Jay Kronenwetter of Wausau, was ineffective and that Circuit Judge Jon Counsell’s sentence was excessive. It also rejected arguments that the instructions to the jury caused an incorrect verdict.

Thomas Aquino, Maier’s attorney on appeal, said he was disappointed with the court’s decision, but said he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.

“He was clearly trying to get a pardon and clearly upset with how he had been treated by the Wood County criminal system beforehand. He expressed those feelings in his letter,” Aquino said. “The issue I think … is can someone be punished with 15 years in prison … for a poor choice of words? For what he wrote in a letter unintentionally caused people to think that he was trying to harm them?”

Dana Brueck, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General’s Office, which filed briefs for the state, said in an email attributed to her that she was pleased with the appellate court’s decision.

Maier is housed in the Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls. Follow @eheisigWLJ