Disbar Marathon County, WI Judge Vincent Howard

This petition is hereby presented in response to the Judicial Misconduct of Marathon County, WI Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard. We demand the Legal Disbarment of Marathon County, WI Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard based on his intent to violate the civil rights of Dale and Leilani Neumann of Weston, WI. In December 2008 Marathon County, WI Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard permitted the prosecutions of Dale and Leilani Neumann based on religious bias in violation of the Wisconsin constitution and applicable laws. Dale and Leilani Neumann were charged with Second-Degree Reckless Homicide in the March 23, 2008, death of their 11-year-old daughter (Madeline "Kara" Neumann) from untreated diabetes at the family's rural Weston, WI home.

The Neumanns were not aware that their daughter Madeline "Kara" Neumann was suffering from a serious condition and prayed for healing. The Neumanns were within their legal rights as prescribed by Wisconsin Statutes: 948.03 (6), 448.03 (6) and 48.981(3)(c)4; (To use prayer in lieu of medical or surgical treatment). Other witness statements contradict the accusations made by the prosecution. When her parents began to notice minor symptoms about two days prior, there was no belief that there was an existing serious medical condition.

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News sources provided information regarding Judge Howard's unethical and unprofessional comments in his 20-page decision:


(a). "The power of prayer to heal, while common in nearly all religions, cannot be proven", Judge Howard stated.

* Judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officers alike, should at all costs, avoid acting upon personal, societal, or organizational biases or stereo types in decision making, police actions or the administration of justice. ** But Judge Howard obviously believes it is acceptable to legislate from the bench with extreme prejudice and with total disregard for the law.

Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard's opinions pertaining to prayer were inappropriate and indicative of extreme bias.

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(b). Howard ruled that two Wisconsin laws one that says it is not child abuse to treat illness through prayer alone and a homicide law that makes no exception for prayer are not inconsistent to the point of violating the parents' due-process rights in having "fair notice" of prohibited behavior.

But then Judge Howard also stated: "There admittedly is no line in the applicable statutes that would have given the Neumanns precise notice that their reliance upon its statute accommodating prayer for treating disease or illness was passing into the realm of criminal conduct."

*** Either there is fair legal notice or there is not. Which is it?

* There is currently no case law or set legal precedent specified to support Judge Howard's statements concerning any such limits to the specified Legal Statutes - since this is the first case of its kind in Wisconsin. This is a case of two malicious prosecutions based on religious bias and gross judicial and prosecutorial misconduct.

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Witness Statements:

(c). A written statement was provided by a witness that says the judge decided he would not sentence Leilani Neumann until her husband Dale Neumann's trial was over, so both could be sentenced at the same time. Leilani Neumann was convicted on May 22, 2009 and Dale Neumann's pre-trial was set for 2 months after on July 23, 2009.

* How is it possible for a judge to have foreknowledge of the outcome of a a trial set 2 months into the future? Was it just the Judge's religious revelation, or perhaps something seriously awry within the Marathon County courts? ## Leilani Neumann's sentencing date has been set for October 6, 2009.


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(d). Witnesses also stated that questionnaires were presented to potential jurors in Leilani Neumann's trial that presented the jurors with inappropriate questions.

* Questions such as whether the juror read about the Neumann case in the local news, if so, does the juror believe the Neumanns are guilty, and if they they answered yes to guilty, could they still judge the case fairly.

** One could only hope that such biased jurors would never be permitted to serve in such a serious criminal trial or any criminal case at all within the United States.

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# We believe that the actions of Marathon County, WI Circuit Court Judge Vincent Howard clearly warrants the legal revocation of his law license and that an investigation by the state of Wisconsin be conducted into the Judicial Misconduct of Judge Vincent Howard and all court and police officials involved in the malicious prosecutions of both Dale and Leilani Neumann.


******* Claims in this case have been substantiated by witness statements and further investigation is ongoing.