Brooks challenges DOJ claims as he continues to seek appeal extension

Brooks challenges DOJ claims as he continues to seek appeal extension

Jim Riccioli, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Tue, January 13, 2026 at 11:02 AM UTC

4 min read

Darrell Brooks, pictured here during his October 2022 trial, wipes away tears as he makes his opening statement to the jury in a Waukesha County Circuit Court in Waukesha. Brooks, who was convicted in deaths and injuries for driving through a Waukesha Christmas Parade on Nov. 21, 2021, is still trying to convince the Court of Appeals to extend his right to appeal.

Despite a Jan. 7 deadline set by the court, Darrell Brooks has yet to file an appeal tied to his 2022 conviction and life sentences in the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy more than four years ago.

Instead, Brooks, 43, is challenging a Wisconsin Department of Justice court submission that contradicted his claim that lockdowns at the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls had prevented him from accessing legal documents needed for his appeal. It's a latest in a series of legal maneuvers Brooks has pursued as he acts again as his own attorney.

Specifically, he has asked the Wisconsin Court of Appeals to conduct an evidentiary hearing on the matter and to grant him another extension in the meantime. On Jan. 12, the court gave state officials until Jan. 23 to respond to Brooks' latest motion but made no immediate ruling on his claims.

Court of Appeals has sought information on Brooks' claims

After 10 extensions dating back to January 2024, Brooks for the first time faced pushback from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in November 2025. Noting that little, if any, recent work had gone into his case file seeking post-conviction relief, appellate court Judge Lisa Neubauer on Nov. 25, granted Brooks one more extension, until Jan. 7, to file his appeal.

Neubauer's hesitation to grant any further extensions was based on two factors that raised doubts about Brooks' claims.

Brooks had purported that his former attorney, Michael Covey, had failed to transmit court documents to him after Brooks took over his own defense in April 2025. He also said lockdowns related to a drug investigation at the South Dakota prison, to which he was transferred in 2025, had closed off his access to the prison's legal library, essential materials and computers.

In response to Brooks' statements, Neubauer asked Covey and Assistant Attorney General John Blimling in the Wisconsin Department of Justice to verify his claims.

Covey responded within days of Neubauer's Nov. 4 court order, telling the court that a hard drive containing the entire case file had been submitted to him in May and that prison officials said was made available to him in June.

In mid-November, DOJ officials also responded, noting that the state penitentiary had been on lockdown only a total of about 17 days since late May, based in information provided by prison officials. Brooks would still have had use of his personal tablet even during those days to work to some extent on his appeal, officials said.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, in that Nov. 21 response, openly questioned Brooks' sincerity, stating "it bears mention that Brooks apparently has made no progress toward actually pursuing an appeal since taking over for Attorney Covey. Instead, he has simply sought to delay proceedings on factually dubious grounds."

Brooks cites 'false statements' from prison and DOJ officials

According to court records and documents, Brooks is challenging those assertions.

In a Dec. 23 handwritten letter (postmarked Jan. 2 and entered into the record Jan. 6), he called out two officials – Kaul and the prison's associate warden Rick Johnston – as providing the court with inaccurate information about the lockdowns and Brooks' progress on the case.

He also claimed he has not received a flash drive containing case information from his former attorney, stating no proof exists he has had access to it.

In his letter, Brooks asked the court "to grant an evidentiary hearing that will establish the facts set forth in pro se defendant's last extension motion and also establish and provide proof of the false statements made by Rick Johnston in his declaration." He also asked the court for another extension for his appeal.

Brooks also criticized Kaul's characterization that he was merely trying to delay the progress, calling it a "misinformed statement" that is based "on assumption rather than facts."

Brooks has been accused of delay tactics before

Kaul's assertion that Brooks was merely seeking to delay proceedings echoed statements made by the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office in October 2022 during his four-week trial.

The trial was repeatedly slowed by outbursts from Brooks, who among other arguments said he did not recognize the court's jurisdiction over him or Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow's qualifications to make rulings. At one point, he also argued that he should be able to call the State of Wisconsin as a witness.

His defense posture proved unsuccessful. Brooks, who drove an SUV through the heart of a parade crowd in downtown Waukesha on Nov. 21, 2021, was convicted on 76 criminal counts: six counts first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit and run involving death and two counts of bail jumping, all felonies, plus one count of misdemeanor battery.

He was sentenced in November 2022 to six consecutive life terms – tied to the deaths of parade participants Tamara Durand, Wilhelm Hospel, Jane Kulich, Leanna Owen, Virginia Sorenson and Jackson Sparks – plus 762 years mostly pertaining to injuries sustained by other parade participants.

He signaled his intent to appeal shortly thereafter.

Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brooks still hasn't appealed Waukesha Christmas parade conviction

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