The following article was posted on www.jsonline.com
Judge orders outside jury in Benson case
Posted: Dec. 11, 2008
Waukesha - A jury will be chosen in another county and brought to Waukesha County for the trial of Mark M. Benson, the former physician charged in the crash April 25 that killed a popular Oconomowoc educator, her unborn child and her 10-year-old daughter.
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge J. Mac Davis determined this afternoon that the "substantial publicity" surrounding the case, including what he said might be called "inflammatory opinion-laden commentary," would make it difficult to pick an impartial jury from Waukesha County residents.
The trial is scheduled to begin April 21.
Benson's attorney, Dean A. Strang, had requested that a jury be brought in from elsewhere or that the trial be held in another county to ensure a fair trial for Benson.
It has not yet been determined from which county the jurors will be selected. Davis said that it would have to be from outside the metro Milwaukee area, perhaps from the west, northwest or north areas of the state.
Benson is accused in the crash that killed 39-year-old Jennifer Bukosky, who was pregnant, and her daughter Courtney Bella. Two other children were injured.
Benson had what prosecutors say was a significant level of the sleep aid Ambien in his system, as well as Xanax, which is used to treat anxiety, and oxycodone, a painkiller, when the afternoon crash occurred at a traffic signal in the northbound lane of Highway 67 at Pabst Road in Oconomowoc.
Two days before the crash, Circuit Judge Lee Dreyfus revoked Benson's driver's license, in connection with a drunken driving conviction.
Benson, 55, is charged with two counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle involving an unborn child, injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle - all of which are felonies - and misdemeanors of operating while intoxicated and causing injury and operating after revocation of his license.
