Legislators Aim to Add More Lawyers, Judges Statewide

A Dane County courtroom. Michelle Johnson/WPR

Lawmakers are trying to counter a backlog of criminal cases by allowing the state to hire more than 100 more people — including judges, prosecutors and public defenders — to work in courts across Wisconsin.

That proposal is awaiting approval by Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Senate, after clearing the GOP-led Assembly in February.

The bill would allocate a total of 18 assistant public defenders, as well as 35 public defender support staff during the 2027 and 2028 budget years.

It also specifies that nearly 69 assistant district attorneys would be added statewide during the next two-year budget cycle.

Additionally, the bill would add several more circuit court judges statewide, and assign those judges to Brown, Kenosha, Menominee and Shawano counties.

Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, said he authored the bill after learning about long waits within Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.

“That means the accused aren’t having their day in court,” Steffen said on the Assembly floor. “The Constitution guarantees that every person shall be provided a speedy trial. We have been denying that to people throughout this state.”

Last year, it took nearly eight months on average for a felony case to work its way through Wisconsin’s state courts. Justice has been getting somewhat speedier in recent years, although, on average, Wisconsin’s criminal cases are still taking longer to resolve compared to before the pandemic.

The bill’s language does not include a specific price tag, although it directs state officials to request funding for the new positions in the next budget cycle.

The additional public defender office’s positions could eventually cost about $5.6 million a year, according to a fiscal estimate from the State Public Defender’s office. Wisconsin’s Department of Administration listed the expected cost of bringing on additional prosecutors as “indeterminate,” in an estimate submitted by that department.

Public defender positions removed from Milwaukee County

Late last year, Steffen brought forth an amendment to the bill which altered the number of court positions allocated to specific counties.

That included removing four assistant public defender and six public defender support staff positions that had been earmarked for Milwaukee County.

During a committee hearing earlier this year, Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, asked why those positions were nixed.

Steffen, the amendment’s author, said the original version of the bill was based on a needs assessment, but added that the legislation was amended in part because of “political pressures.”

“In order for me to get unanimous support in my caucus and unanimous support in committee, there were certain things that had to be done,” Steffen told Johnson during the committee meeting. “I am more than happy to have the individuals who were part of that effort contact you directly, but I don’t know if I can properly express it.”

Steffen declined to provide additional comment to WPR.

The bill’s co-author, Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Gillett, did not respond to a request for comment.

In an interview with WPR, Johnson said she was told some GOP lawmakers were unhappy about interactions between the public defender’s office for the Milwaukee region and an advocacy group called Enough is Enough, which focuses on victims of reckless driving. In Milwaukee County, its activities have included showing up to observe court proceedings and submitting impact statements asking for strict penalties in reckless driving cases.

Last year, regional managers for the public defender’s office in Greater Milwaukee sent a letter to Milwaukee County’s criminal judges, expressing concerns about the group’s role and suggesting that it “functions more as an extension of the DA’s (district attorney’s) office.”

That prompted pushback from some people in Milwaukee County, including from state Rep. Bob Donovan, R- Greenfield, who said he expected an apology from the public defenders over their attempt to “smear” Enough is Enough.

Johnson said it’s counterproductive to withhold positions because of the controversy.

“To hold 900,000 people hostage because they felt what was said was offensive to one organization — it’s not fair,” Johnson said, referencing the population of Milwaukee County.

The amended version of the bill gives Milwaukee County a total of four additional assistant district attorneys. Last year, there were more than 6,000 felony cases filed in Milwaukee County — the most of any Wisconsin county.

In 2022, a group of people charged with crimes in Wisconsin sued alleging that their constitutional rights were being violated because of excessive waits for public defenders. A Brown County judge has denied class action status in the case, but that order is being appealed. 

Listen to the WPR report

Faced with court backlog, lawmakers aim to add more lawyers, judges statewide was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.