Who is Jennifer Dorow? Judge allows Waukesha parade killer Darrell Brooks to represent HIMSELF!
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN: Darrell Brooks, a Wisconsin man who is accused of plowing his SUV into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing six people and injuring many more, has been permitted to defend himself in court by Judge Jennifer Dorow. It was determined that Brooks, 40, has a personality problem and despite the fact that he may have a difficult time defending himself against an accomplished prosecutors' team, he is declared mentally sound.
Due to the judgment of Waukesha County Circuit Judge Dorow, Brooks is now in the peculiar situation of having to defend himself against a number of accusations, including six counts of intentional homicide. The jury selection phase of his trial is slated to begin on Monday, October 3. Although the 40-year-old did not attend college, he possesses a high school equivalency credential. If he is mentally competent, according to Dorow, he has a fundamental right to represent himself in court. Dorow claimed to have read the assessments of Brooks completed by four psychologists and concurred with their conclusions that, despite having a personality problem and being disruptive, Brooks is clever and eloquent enough to defend himself. She forewarned him that he would struggle to comprehend the rules of evidence, to know when to challenge decisions, and to properly cross-examine witnesses without any formal training but she couldn't stop him. “This court has warned Mr. Brooks what he's getting into,” Dorow said as reported by Daily Mail.
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On November 21, 2021, Brooks allegedly drove his SUV into a Christmas procession in the heart of Waukesha. A criminal complaint claims that he disobeyed orders to halt and continued to drive while hitting individuals while police fired at his car. If found guilty on any of the murder counts, he would be sentenced to life in prison. He is charged with 71 other offenses in total, 61 of which are felonies for reckless endangerment. The maximum prison term for each of those crimes is twelve and a half years. Additionally, each of those crimes has a penalty enhancement for use of a deadly weapon that would add an additional five years to the sentence.
Who is Judge Jennifer Dorow?
Dorow graduated cum laude from Regent University School of Law after receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Marquette University. She worked in Safe & Sound Waukesha's volunteer program and has been a board member of Kiwanis International's Waukesha Noon Chapter. She is a local defense attorney who previously worked as an assistant district attorney in the Waukesha County district attorney’s office prior to her swearing-in in 2012 as Waukesha County's newest judge. In order to defend children in Waukesha County, Dorow has also contributed a portion of her own business to acting in this capacity. Dorow was first appointed chief judge in 2017. She has served on the Waukesha County Circuit Court since being appointed in 2011. She was elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.
In 2019, Dorow handled another important case. As Waukesha County Judge Dorow found Frank Schiller guilty after the 39-year-old entered a plea of no contest, reports Fox. Schiller was out on bail from his fourth OWI conviction at the time of the crash and faced 15 felonies and more than 100 years in prison. Schiller was out on bail when he was involved in a July 2017 interstate crash that killed a good Samaritan from Canada and she declared him guilty of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle. Dorow had sentenced Schiller to 25 years in prison, plus another 15 years of extended supervision.
In Brooks' case Dorow did not want this to be a high-profile case tried in the media or invite coverage over the Milwaukee County criminal cases facing Brooks. She had hoped to isolate jurors during certain questioning if they have acknowledged at least some prior media exposure. All witnesses will be isolated from other testimony in the case until after they've given their own testimony, Dorow had ruled according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. That means victims who have yet to testify are not allowed to watch the trial.
Why did Jennifer Dorow allow Darrell Brooks to defend himself?
Brooks first entered a plea of not guilty by reason of a mental illness, but he later withdrew it earlier this month and submitted a request to represent himself. He claimed in court on September 27, Tuesday, that Jeremy Perri and Anna Kees, his public defenders, had not conveyed the specifics of the allegations to him. Brooks argued that he was aware but didn't comprehend when Dorow continually questioned him about whether he knew what he was doing. Her frustration caused her to adjourn the hearing and continue it on Wednesday, September 28. She even went on to ask him to 'stop playing games' on his insistence to represent himself, reports New York Post. She read him his charges again and he continued to insist that he did not understand the charges and penalties he was facing, telling Dorow “it’s a lot of numbers.”
On Wednesday, Sept 28, Dorow and Brooks exchanged just as many combative words. Throughout the trial, Brooks repeatedly interrupted Dorow as she explained the implications of his decision. She warned him that if he requested an attorney, she likely wouldn't assign one and that she would admonish him in front of the jury if he continued interrupting during the trial. “That's fine,” Brooks had responded.