Wisconsin court backlog; Lawmaker wants more prosecutors, public defenders and judges

Описание: A new bill has been introduced to try to address the backlog of court cases across Wisconsin.

It's an issue that's been especially prevalent in Brown County. FOX 11 Investigates recently took a deep dive into the problem, which is when we first told you this legislation was in the works.

It's estimated Brown County taxpayers are spending an extra $15-20 million each year for inmates to stay longer in jail as they wait for their case to get settled in court. Republican State Rep. David Steffen says that's according to numbers he received from the sheriff.

Steffen has introduced the "Justice for All Act." It calls for 64.5 prosecutors, 22 public defenders, 41 public defender support positions and four judges in the next two-year state budget, starting in 2027. It's expected to cost about $22 million.

State Sen. Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay, says the need for help in the courts is undeniable. However, he says Steffen's bill doesn't accomplish anything, because even if passed, the next legislature and governor will have to sign off as well.

Steffen acknowledges more work will need to be done, but believes passing the legislation now will make it easier to include in the budget.

To further address the backlog of cases, Steffen says he also plans to propose in the next budget tiered pay increases for private attorneys to take cases the public defender's office cannot. That will help cases like James Grandberry's. The accused drug dealer waited more than 400 days for the public defender's office to find him an attorney.

Steffen says work is also being done to relax conflict standards so private attorneys aren't needed as often for public defender cases.

As it stands now, Steffen says the median time it takes for pending cases to go through the system in Wisconsin is 205 days -- 63% longer than it took a decade ago.

Full story: https://fox11online.com/news/local/gr...
#wisconsin #wipolitics #criminaljustice #justicesystem
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