Wisconsin

Randy Hopper Found Not Guilty Of DUI Charge, After Union-Conspiracy Defense

Eric Kleefeld | March 23, 2012, 5:28PM

Former Wisconsin state Sen. Randy Hopper (R) was found not guilty by a jury Friday on a charge of drunk-driving, after mounting a court defense that his arrest in October was the product of a conspiracy by the public employee union members who had successfully worked to recall him from office earlier last summer.

The verdict was delivered Friday afternoon, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter.

Hopper and his attorney Dennis Melowski presented a case that public employee union members in Fond du Lac County, the place Hopper formerly represented and where he was arrested for the alleged DUI, have been out to get him for his support of Gov. Scott Walker's legislation that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public employees.

Melowski did admit at trial that Hopper drank as many as three and a half beers at a Green Bay Packers game on October 16, 2011, before driving home to Fond du Lac with his girlfriend, Valerie Cass. But they were able to persuade a jury for an acquittal, by casting doubt on the motives of both the arresting officer and the family that had phoned the police about Hopper's driving.

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Topics: Randy Hopper, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Recalled Wisconsin State Senator At DUI Trial: I Was Drinking, But It's A Union Conspiracy

Eric Kleefeld | March 23, 2012, 12:34PM

Remember Randy Hopper, the Republican state senator in Wisconsin who was recalled and defeated in 2011 -- and later in the year was arrested and charged with drunk-driving? He and his lawyer are now presenting their defense in the trial: It's all a political conspiracy by the unions.

The Appleton Post Crescent reports, Hopper and his attorney Dennis Melowski are presenting a case that public employee union members in Fond du Lac County, the place he formerly represented and where he was arrested for alleged DUI, have been out to get him for his support of Gov. Scott Walker's legislation that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for public employees. (Police and firefighters were exempted.)

Interestingly, though, Melowski did still say in court that Hopper drank as many as three and a half beers at a Green Bay Packers game on October 16, 2011, before driving home to Fond du Lac with his girlfriend, Valerie Cass.

So will jurors buy it?

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Topics: Randy Hopper, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Randy Hopper, After DUI Arrest: 'Don't Ever Run For Office'

Eric Kleefeld | October 19, 2011, 11:29AM

More details have emerged of the arrest this past weekend of former Wisconsin state Sen. Randy Hopper on a drunk-driving charge. Hopper, a Republican, was defeated this past August in recall elections stemming from Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation.

Hopper was pulled over into a grocery store parking lot, after witnesses reported seeing him almost cause a head-on collision. The Green Bay Press Gazette reports that officers administered a field sobriety test -- in which Hopper could not keep his balance, and did not correctly recite the order of the alphabet, and then declined to take a breath test.

During the ride in the squad car on the way to the county jail, Hopper tried to start a conversation with the arresting officer, Deputy Nicholas Venne:

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Topics: DUI, Randy Hopper, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Recalled Ex-State Senator Arrested For DUI In Wisconsin

Eric Kleefeld | October 17, 2011, 12:43PM

Former Wisconsin state Sen. Randy Hopper, a Republican who was defeated this past August in recall elections stemming from Gov. Scott Walker's anti-public employee union legislation, was arrested Sunday night on a charge of drunk driving.

From the Fond du Lac Reporter

Officers were called to Highway 151 near County Trunk WH about 5:30 p.m. Sunday for a report of a black Suburban "all over the road," according to dispatch logs.

Officers stopped the vehicle and Hopper, 45, the driver, was arrested. He was held in the Fond du Lac County Jail for 12 hours and released early today, said Sgt. Renee Schuster.

According to dispatch logs, passengers in the car included Valerie Cass, 25.

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Topics: DUI, Randy Hopper, Valerie Cass, Wisconsin