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Judge denies change of venue for Mequon attorney charged with hate crime, battery

Judge denies change of venue for Mequon attorney charged with hate crime, battery

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The trial of a Mequon attorney charged for spitting in the face of a Black teenager and kneeing an officer in the groin will remain in Milwaukee County.

Stephanie Rapkin, pictured bottom right, appears for a motion hearing streamed live on Thursday.
Stephanie Rapkin, pictured bottom right, appears for a motion hearing streamed live on Thursday.

On Thursday, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro denied a motion for change of venue for Stephanie Rapkin, an estate planning and probate attorney.

Rapkin, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to hate crime and battery charges stemming from two related incidents in June. The criminal complaint said she spit in the face of a Black 17-year-old who was peacefully protesting with his friends in Shorewood on June 6. When officers went to Rapkin’s Shorewood home to arrest her, they said she tried to resist and kneed one of the officers in the groin.

At Thursday’s motion hearing, Yamahiro said there was significant news coverage of the incident at the time it occurred, but he wasn’t convinced that people would remember it by the time the trial happens. He thought they’d be able to find a fair jury in Milwaukee County.

“Whether or not the hate-crime enhancer stands, I still believe it is important in this case that we make an attempt to procure a diverse jury panel,” Yamahiro said, “and I don’t believe the answer to that is getting a jury panel from Waukesha or Ozaukee County.”

Yamahiro granted a motion to sever the disorderly conduct count and the battery count — a motion agreed upon by both the defense and the State. He said the motion related to the hate-crime enhancer would be addressed at a later date.

The court then moved onto the motion related to a search warrant, and the state called Thomas Liebenthal, a lieutenant for the Shorewood Police Department, as a witness. Liebenthal said he talked to Rapkin on June 6 and 7. He said she was answering phone calls and “extremely distracted” while an officer was trying to take her statement on June 6.

Police were called to her house the next day for a possible battery. Liebenthal said Rapkin wasn’t answering the door, shouts to her from outside her home or phone calls, and police became concerned about her welfare. He testified that Rapkin’s friend had told police that Rapkin was taking sleeping medication, and witnesses at the scene said she seemed intoxicated when she confronted them. After 20 minutes of trying to contact her, police decided to make a forced entry.

The state attempted to play footage from Liebenthal’s body camera from June 7 during his testimony, but the video and audio were lagging when played back on the live feed of the hearing. After some time waiting for someone from the IT department to fix the issue, the parties agreed to continue with the hearing on a later date, rather than go without the video.

Yamahiro said situations like that indicated the need for greater investments in court technology.

“This isn’t like the federal courthouse where everything is tuned up like a concert hall,” Yamahiro said. “We’re here with a bunch of extension cords and tin cans.”

The motion hearing will resume on April 27 starting at 9 a.m.

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