Judge rules Neumueller trial will stay in Clark County

Evidence and testimony in an eventual trial for a Neillsville man charged with allegedly driving drunk when he killed a Clark County highway worker in August 2021 will be heard by Clark County jurors, a judge ruled last week. With the trial for 30-year-old Cory Neumueller set to begin in about four months, Judge Daniel Diehn decided a fair trial can be held here despite a defense attorney’s claims that the victims’ families are too well known in the area.

A change of venue hearing in the case against Neumueller was heard on Nov. 30 in Clark County Circuit Court. Harry Hertel, Neumueller’s attorney, asked Diehn to have the trial held in Neillsville but heard by jurors from a different county, because there is a “reasonable likelihood” that Clark County’s jury pool would not be impartial due to familiarity with the families of the victim, and preconceived notions about those who drive while drunk. Prosecuting attorney Tara Jenswold said that is not the case, and any potential impartiality can be dealt with during the jury selection process.

Neumueller was driving his pickup on County Road G south of Willard in the early morning hours of Aug. 8, 2021, when it struck a tree that had been blown down on a road by high winds. Clark County Highway Department workers Russell Opelt and David Murphy were at the scene attempting to remove the tree when Neumueller’s truck struck it. Opelt was killed at the scene and Murphy was severely injured, with a leg eventually amputated.

A blood draw taken from Neumueller after the incident showed his blood alcohol content to be .12 percent, according to court records, with the state’s legal limit for driving at .08 percent. Neumueller was charged nine days after the crash with eight felony counts, including homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle, and hit-andrun involving death and injury. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on April 12. Neumueller is free on a $25,000 cash bond as he awaits trial.

With the Opelt and Murphy families relatively large and well known in Clark County, Hertel said there is a high chance that jurors selected for the case will be related to them or know them.

“The reality is that there is bound to be someone who knows someone that is a member of those families,” Hertel said, which would make it more difficult than normal to find jurors who would not favor the victims’ side of the case. Also, he said, jurors from Clark County who are familiar with the victims may have “empathy” for them due to their “public servant” roles. Hertel hired a special investigator to research the case and conduct “man on the street” interviews with people in Neillsville, Greenwoodand Thorp. Those conversations, as well as comments posted on social media after news broke of the crash, show that some in Clark County have preconceived notions that those who drive drunk should be harshly punished, Hertel said.

“The issue of how drunk driving is perceived by a jury is of significance,” Hertel said.

Hertel also spoke about news publicity in the case. The stories that have aired on television/radio and in print in local newspapers have not been inflammatory, he said, but Neumueller’s jail mug shot has been consistently displayed.

“That’s what the public has seen of Cory Neumueller,” Hertel said.

Hertel said the cumulative effect of the Opelt/Murphy names, the drunk driving comments, the empathy for public servants and the pretrial publicity make it difficult to ensure Neumueller would get a fair trial here.

“Is there a reasonable likelihood that the trial may not be fair?” is a question the court must answer, Hertel said. A jury from another county would come “with a clean slate,” he said, and would not include people “somewhat predisposed to feel empathy for the victims before there’s even been a trial started.”

“The community sentiment should not be entering the courtroom into the jury

“There are ways to ensure a fair and impartial trial short of a change of venue. I believe that the concerns that the defense has can be addressed in jury selection.” -- Prosecuting attorney Tara Jenswold box,” Hertel said.

Jenswold, who is prosecuting the case after Clark County District Attorney Melissa Inlow removed herself due to familiarity with the victims’ families, said there are adequate protections built into the trial process to make sure impartial jurors are seated. Each juror is asked specific questions about potential relationships with a certain family, she said, and those with ties can be eliminated.

“There are ways to ensure a fair and impartial trial short of a change of venue,” Jenswold said. “I believe that the concerns that the defense has can be addressed in jury selection.”

Jenswold said simple math shows a fair jury can be seated. Recent census data shows there are more than 24,300 citizens of age in the county to serve on a jury. With a generous estimate of 1,500 of those residents in either the Opelt or Murphy families, “That leaves us over 23,000 potential jurors that are not related to the Opelts or Murphys,” Jenswold said.

Also, she said, it does not automatically exclude a juror from consideration if they simply know someone involved in a case or who is familiar with details of the situation.

“We get that in almost every case in a small community,” she said.

Diehn said issues of pretrial publicity are not at play in this case because none of the news coverage has been inflammatory. Some of the social media comments could be considered as such, Diehn noted, but he also said most of the comments are more than a year old and no evidence is present that the comments even came from county residents.

“It’s not clear to the court that it’s widespread,” Diehn said of the social media influence on opinions.

He also agreed that problems with potential impartiality can be nipped during jury selection. Some potential jurors may know about the case, but can still serve if they can be impartial.

“That doesn’t mean those people can’t be fair jurors,” the judge said. “I think we have the tools to address that.”

After ruling against the motion for change of venue, Diehn said he wants to meet with the attorneys in the case prior to the trial to strategize ways to minimize jury selection issues.