Efforts to Expand Wisconsin’s Court System Stalled Amid Legislative Hurdles
The initiative to bolster Wisconsin’s court personnel has hit a roadblock, leaving both lawmakers and legal professionals concerned about the implications for the state’s judicial system. The proposal, which aimed to introduce over 100 new roles across the state’s courts, has failed to progress beyond the Assembly.
The bill proposed hiring approximately 69 new district attorneys, 18 assistant public defenders, and several support staff, along with a few judges. Despite passing in the Republican-controlled Assembly in February, it did not reach a Senate vote.
As the legislative session wrapped up with no further business scheduled, the bill appears to have stalled. Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, expressed his disappointment over the development, yet remains hopeful that these positions might be revisited in the next state budget cycle.
“We have a system that’s on the brink and needs to have the proper staffing in order to operate correctly,” Steffen remarked in an interview with WPR.
The state public defender’s office echoed Steffen’s concerns, viewing the Senate’s inaction as a missed opportunity to relieve the burdened public defense system. In a news release, the office criticized lawmakers for neglecting what they termed a “lifeline.”
State Public Defender Jennifer Bias highlighted the repercussions, stating, “Our attorneys are drowning, and it’s Wisconsinites who pay the price when constitutional rights are treated as an optional expense.”
Deputy Public Defender Bridget Krause further emphasized the issue during a PBS Wisconsin interview, noting the delays in legal proceedings leave some individuals waiting in jail without representation.
“We don’t want people sitting there that could be innocent of the crimes that they’ve been accused of because they don’t have a lawyer to represent them,” Krause told PBS Wisconsin host Frederica Freyberg.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, has not commented on why the Senate did not schedule a vote on the legislation. According to Steffen, cost concerns among Republican senators played a role, with some advocating for the issue to be addressed within the state budget.
The backlog of criminal cases in Wisconsin has been a pressing issue, affecting both victims and defendants. Steffen pointed out that delays in preliminary hearings can extend for years, describing it as “justice denied.”
Although case processing times have improved slightly, they remain lengthy compared to pre-pandemic levels. The most recent budget did increase prosecutor positions, but the hiring of public defenders remains insufficient.
Krause explained, “If you don’t have the lawyers on the other side to represent those clients, it just bottlenecks the system.”
In 2022, a lawsuit was filed in Brown County by individuals alleging that prolonged waits for public defenders violated their constitutional rights. While Steffen’s proposal initially garnered bipartisan support, an amendment removing positions earmarked for Milwaukee County led to some Democratic opposition.
State Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, suggested the removal was due to criticisms from the Milwaukee-area public defender’s office. Steffen acknowledged the amendment was necessary to secure enough votes in the Assembly, but expressed hope for future inclusion of those positions.
“That’s just part of the process of sausage-making in the state Capitol — sometimes you have to give in on some things in order to get the votes,” he said.
