LANCASTER, Wis. -- A preliminary hearing for a Montfort man accused of his seventh OWI was delayed after the judge stepped down from the case.
Grant County Judge Robert VanDeHey recused himself from Ronnie Aide's case. VanDeHey was quoted in a Telegraph Herald story about Wisconsin OWI sentencing laws after responding to interview questions sent via e-mail by a TH reporter. The story, which ran on Sunday, also mentioned Aide's case. VanDeHey told the court it would be proper to recuse himself, District Attorney Tony Pozorski said.
In court documents, VanDeHey wrote that he wished to "avoid the appearance of impropriety in light of recent media contact." He declined to comment.
The preliminary hearing will be rescheduled after another judge is assigned to the case, Pozorski said. A rotating judge from Lafayette County, Crawford County or Iowa County will likely be assigned the case because outgoing Judge George S. Curry's replacement, Craig Day, currently works with Aide's attorney, Eric Reinicke.
Courtney Blanchard, TH staff writer
