Defending self, drifter causes stir

Man allegedly tried to claim some area-foreclosed homes as his own using these documents.

POLSON — When Brent Arthur Wilson’s case number was called in District Judge Kim Christopher’s courtroom last Thursday, you could almost smell the aroma of popcorn cooking. The assembled masses, some there for their own cases, others merely observers, knew the arraignment was going to be a show.

Word had spread about the strange allegations against Wilson, 53, and the unique, allegedly fraudulent, paperwork he had filed at the County Clerk and Recorder’s office. Wilson  allegedly tried to claim some area-foreclosed homes as his own using these documents.

It’s safe to say no one was disappointed in the dialogue between the defendant, who refused an attorney, and Judge Christopher, who coolly maintained control of her courtroom against a particularly outspoken defendant.

Arraigned on four felony charges and three misdemeanors, Wilson’s bizarre reactions to Christopher’s questions led county prosecutor Jessica Cole-Hodgkinson to ask for a state mental health evaluation of the defendant, which was granted and will be completed before his omnibus hearing on March 18.

As the hearing began, Judge Christopher, noticing Wilson had no attorney, inquired as to whether he’d like one. Wilson became increasingly hostile and aggressive as Christopher attempted to make sure Wilson understood the serious charges against him, and the distinct  “dangers and disadvantages” of not having legal counsel.

“I do not understand your corporate laws, your precepts,” Wilson said. “They are in fact foreign to me. You speak a foreign language. Let the record reflect that.”

After this statement by Wilson, Cole-Hodgkinson decided to recommend a mental health evaluation.

“I want to make sure it’s a knowledgeable, intelligent waiver of attorney,” Cole-Hodgkinson said after the hearing. “When somebody starts to say they don’t speak the language, I’m concerned. It’s better safe than sorry.”

Christopher, clearly taken aback but not defeated, asked, “Any other record you wish to make at this time, sir?”

Wilson replied, his voice and intonations rising: “Have I not made myself clear, Deborah? Is there any part of my statement that I have no U.S. Constitutional rights, I want no U.S. Constitutional rights, I claim no U.S. Constitutional rights, what part of that is unclear?”

Connie Costanza, Judge Christopher’s official court reporter, has 18 years of experience in her profession, and considered Wilson’s actions some of the most hostile she has seen throughout her career.

“That was so bad, so disrespectful of the court and the judicial system,” Costanza said. “Especially calling the judge by her name, that was pretty disrespectful, I think.”

Cole-Hodgkinson was impressed with the composure Christopher displayed during Wilson’s attack.

“It’s important to note the judge’s courtesy,” Cole-Hodgkinson said. “I was impressed with that, considering his lack of respect for the court.”

When Wilson asked for something to be shown on the record, which he did 11 times throughout the proceeding, he emphasized it by making eye contact with Costanza, his voice rising. Costanza said she is not permitted to speak in court, but that she nodded her head as a response, feeling uneasy the entire time.

“It made me a little uneasy a couple of times,” she said, two days after the hearing. “I knew there were plenty of bailiffs there but yeah, he made me uneasy.”

When Judge Christopher asked if Wilson had received the case’s charging documents, Wilson shot back, “Are you attempting to entrap me, to enslave me, to rob me of my liberties?”

Judge Christopher proceeded to ask Cole-Hodgkinson to read the charges against Wilson out loud. She also asked Steven Eschenbacher, an attorney from the public defender’s office, to review Wilson’s case to serve as standby counsel if Wilson decides to retain an attorney. This question was not received well by the defendant, who interrupted Christopher as she spoke.

“For the record, on the record, let the record show, if Mr. Eschenbacher says one word on my behalf in this meeting room, this tribunal, this day, I will in fact arrest his bond and seize his surety,” Wilson said, “It’s located in Helena, Montana with his custodian. Let the record show this.”

In an interview with the Leader on Feb. 12 at the Lake County Jail, Wilson made clear that he had no intention of retaining counsel.

“I am ‘non-caput’ which is ‘non-slave’ in Latin,” Wilson said. “They want to press ferocious fines and throw me in jail. An attorney works in law, I work in fact. I am the attorney, in fact.”

Cole-Hodgkinson thinks Wilson will put himself at a serious disadvantage by not retaining counsel.

“Pro se litigants are held to the same standards as a lawyer and judges can’t give legal advice,” she said. “I don’t know Mr. Wilson has the skill set or the knowledge to effectively represent a complicated felony case.”

Wilson will next appear, representing himself, at an omnibus hearing on March 18.