​The mission of the Wisconsin Justice Initiative is to advocate for progressive change in the Wisconsin justice system by educating the public about its real-life impacts and partnering with other organizations to achieve more just outcomes.

Our priorities:

• Ensuring that municipal court defendants are treated fairly and that judges adhere to the law in considering poverty at sentencing
• Educating the public about Marsy's Law and opposing its inclusion in the State Constitution
• Legalizing medical and recreational cannabis
• Eliminating life-without-parole sentences for juveniles
• Eliminating the felony bail jumping charge

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Recent successes:

• Successfully lobbied the City of Milwaukee to continue funding for lawyer for indigent defendants in Municipal Court
• Published a "Know Your Rights" card, municipal court version, in partnership with other organizations and with funding from the Wisconsin Law Foundation
• Successfully urged Milwaukee County communities to reduce the number of people incarcerated at the House of Correction due to their failure to pay municipal court forfeitures
•  Successfully worked to significantly reduce the number of municipal court     defendants incarcerated at the House of Correction
• Played a key role in organizing 18 cannabis legalization advisory referendums in Wisconsin
• Translated the "Know Your Rights" municipal court pocket-guide into Spanish

Continuing work:

• Holding monthly luncheons, open to the public, where guest speakers address legal issues of general interest and concern (see our Events page)
• Producing a Spanish-language video about how to negotiate municipal court
• Providing the public with news and information about the justice system  through the WJI blog, newsletter, social media, and public speaking
• Working for cannabis legalization
• Advocating for the repeal of life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders
• Opposing overly punitive sentences for crimes
• Calling attention to the abuse of felony bail jumping charges to force guilty  pleas from defendants
• Providing continuing legal education credit opportunities for attorneys

Many thanks to these institutional supporters for their support:

Theodora Swientek Fund
Harold Grosskopf Fund 
​ The Lawlis Family Fund
​The Barbara Brumder Buzard Fund
The Marvin F. and Grace A. Dahlke Fund
An Anonymous Fund

Jewish Community Foundation Donor Advised Funds
Herb Kohl Philanthropies
Ralph Evinrude Foundation
​We Energies Foundation
​Wm. Collins Kohler Foundation

Contact us:

​Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc.
P.O. Box 100705
Milwaukee, WI 53210

414-839-8032

Margo@wjiinc.org

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