Brown County drug trafficking suspect James Grandberry. (Photo source: Brown County Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — James Grandberry doesn’t have an attorney for his drug case, after all. But an attorney may be appointed soon, the state Public Defender’s Office said Tuesday.
Grandberry, 36, faces 14 charges, including three of manufacture or delivery of fentanyl, amphetamines and cocaine, after a bust last August of a Chicago-to-Green Bay drug ring. Seven people were arrested, with Grandberry facing the most charges. He was arrested on July 11, 2024, and charged about two weeks later. Prosecutors have since said this case was the state’s first wiretap investigation for fentanyl and at least 47 people are facing charges.
A preliminary hearing is an early step in the criminal process, where prosecutors have to show there is enough for the case to proceed. For those in custody — as Grandberry is, being held on a $1 million cash bond — such hearings are supposed to take place within 10 days. However, as the state had been unable to find an attorney for Grandberry, that hearing has been postponed at least seven times, most recently on July 15.
Grandberry argues his constitutional rights have been violated by not have the preliminary hearing more than a year after he was charged. He was granted a rare in-case review of the issue, known as an “interlocutory appeal.”
Last week a Madison attorney, Joseph Bugni, was appointed to represent Grandberry in both his Brown County case and the one before the appeals court. However, Bugni is listed as “withdrawn” from the Brown County case as of Monday.
Bugni says he should have only been listed as the attorney for the appeals case.
“It was likely listed because it is an interlocutory appeal and not one based on a final judgment,” Bugni said.
Meanwhile, a Monday filing by the Public Defender’s Office states: “At this time, we have made 5,662 contacts (contacts includes phone calls, emails, personal discussions, and any other appropriate means of contact) to private bar attorneys certified by the SPD to take this case type, however, no attorney has agreed to represent this applicant.”
That’s nearly 400 additional contacts since the last update from the Public Defender’s Office.
In court Tuesday, attorney Bradley Schraven, regional attorney manager for that office, said there are a few attorneys who “may be willing” to take his case.
“Hopefully, we can have Mr. Grandberry an attorney here shortly,” Schraven said.
Another status conference was scheduled for Oct. 14 before Judge Beau Liegeois.
A few years ago, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled a Green Bay man’s rights had been violated because he sat in jail 113 days without a preliminary hearing. The charges against the man were able to be refiled.
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