Ann Retzlaff appears before Marathon County court via Zoom, October 2, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
SHAWANO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Former campground owner Ann Retzlaff filed a motion to change the judge in several of her criminal cases, while her attorney is now asking the court for a mental competency review of her.
Retzlaff – the former owner of Annie’s Campground in Gresham – faces two sets of criminal charges.
The original group of charges started with a May 2021 traffic stop in Shawano County, and additional charges for an April 20 arrest on warrants related to missed court appearances on the first charges. An additional bail jumping charge was filed after allegedly went to Michigan without permission. A Jan. 23 trial is scheduled for charges associated with the initial traffic stop, including fleeing an officer.
The second set of charges are in Sauk County, where she allegedly filed illegal liens against those involved in the foreclosure of the campground. Arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 13 in that case.
On Thursday, attorney Michael Hughes requested a psychiatric exam “on the grounds that the defendant’s attorney has reason to doubt the defendant’s competency,” the motion states.
Competency refers to a suspect’s ability to understand the court proceedings and assist in their own defense. It does not refer to their mental condition at the time of the alleged crime.
Such requests are routinely granted, but no hearing has been scheduled. And, given a handwritten motion Retzlaff filed Friday, it remains to be seen who would handle such a hearing.
Retzlaff filed a six-page motion asking that Marathon County Judge Michael Moran be removed from the case.
Defendants are usually allowed one substitution of a judge without reason or need to show cause, if it’s done before the arraignment case. In this case, the court entered a not guilty plea on Retzlaff’s behalf in June, court records show.
Retzlaff’s motion contends her due process rights “are grievously in danger,” and she is “unlawfully incarcerated.”
She is being held in jail, unable to post more than $50,000 in cash bonds set in the case. As a result, she has “no liberties due to the bias of the court,” she wrote.
Her previous motions to reduce her bail have been denied.
In the original case, police tried to pull Retzlaff over for failure to stop at a traffic light on May 15, 2021, but she did not pull over, the complaint states. Eventually, traffic stop spikes were deployed, flattening her tires, and the vehicle stopped. An officer advised her to get out of the vehicle. When she was arrested on warrants for not showing up in court on the original case, she allegedly was confrontational with officers, prompting additional charges. After skipping a court hearing in January, a warrant for her arrest was issued. She was arrested in August, when a judge tripled her cash bond – which now stands at $57,000 total for those cases.
Retzlaff was the owner of Annie’s Campground in Gresham, but it was sold at auction to satisfy mortgage and tax debts.
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