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By Alexandria Staubach While jury service is touted as one of the highest forms of public service an American can perform, it’s difficult to find a person who will admit they enjoy it. Jury duty has a reputation for being inconvenient, and time-consuming. It generally comes at a significant personal expense and involves a mind-numbing number of hours spent waiting. Finally, it’s a little intimidating and at least a bit uncomfortable. Read: If you’re excited to sit in judgment of another person’s actions it’s unlikely any lawyer really wants you on their jury. Nevertheless, under Wisconsin law, jurors are eligible for up to five days of service within a month or until any case they have been seated on is over. You can serve as a juror for only one month in a four-year period. The pay is abysmal, especially if you’re missing work and your employer isn’t compensating you. Within 30 days of your service, a half day will earn you $17, a full day, $25. As a lawyer I’ve been on the other side of a jury plenty of times arguing my case, but I’ve never been called for jury duty. I was to report for service on Monday, Oct. 16, at 8 a.m., but the day began well before then. Unless you’re taking public transportation or getting dropped off, you’ll need to locate and pay for long-term parking. No location is particularly close, and none is particularly affordable. The cheapest option, which is often full, is a half-mile’s walk and $10 a day. This is somewhat compensated for by the fact that Milwaukee County's courthouse is beautiful. The neoclassical building was completed in 1931 and includes Beaux-Arts details with sculptures and truly interesting tile and marble work. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. While it retains much of its charm, it also holds the grit of having dispensed nearly 100 years of justice.
There is a significant security line around 8 a.m., and it is bustling with attorneys, witnesses, family, observers, and jurors all sharing the same crowded hall to enter. I disarmed myself of my cell phone, keys and laptop to proceed through the metal detector. Once through, I made my way to the third-floor jury management room, where I began my day as a potential juror. While the wait was often long, everyone interacting with jurors is incredibly kind — so respectful, so appreciative. As if to silently say, “it’s the least we can do.” After two hours of reading, people watching, and chatting with my fellow compatriots in limbo, at 10 a.m. my name was called. Sheriff’s deputies lined us up by assigned number in the hall outside jury management and marched us like ducks from the main courthouse to the Safety Building, traversing a city block and several flights of stairs in a group of 30. The Milwaukee County Safety Building is a sky bridge and world apart from the courthouse. The Safety Building was originally constructed in 1929 and housed the central police station, city and county court, city and county jails and the county sheriff. In the 1990s the county moved their detainees to a newer facility, paving the way for the Safety Building to house additional courtrooms and legal offices. This part of the building is distinguished from its neoclassical counterpart by its wholly custodial aesthetic. We arrived at the courtroom of the Hon. Jeffrey A. Wagner and again lined up by assigned number. Wagner took the bench in 1988 and his tenure predates the Safety Building’s courtrooms. Standing in line, we waited in the hall to be called, but 20 minutes later we were dismissed as the scheduled trial received a continuation. There was a large collective groan and everyone waddled back to jury management. I resumed my seat and was soon called for another potential trial. We lined up again by assigned number and were guided back over the river and through the woods to the Safety Building (I cannot over emphasize how long this walk is), this time to the courtroom of the Hon. Laura A. Crivello. Crivello was appointed to the bench in 2018 and elected in the spring of 2019. She served as an assistant district attorney from 1995 until then. She runs a tight ship.  Photograph by Alexandria Staubach When we arrived in Crivello’s courtroom we were seated by number. The space was cramped with 30 prospective jurors, two people at the defendant’s table, two people at the prosecution’s table, a court reporter, two clerks, and a bailiff.
The judge introduced the parties and the charges. The defendant was charged with two counts of recklessly endangering safety and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. I was surprised to see he was dressed in an orange jumpsuit and was “pro se” (representing himself). On multiple occasions Crivello explained that these were his choices, and his choices alone. Next came questioning called “voir dire,” which Crivello informed the panel meant “to speak the truth.” Crivello asked about disabilities, hearing, our collective ability to remain objective, and any experiences with the criminal justice system that might make us unfit for this jury. Despite grumbling outside the courtroom, every prospective juror was fully on board to participate. No one attempted lame excuses about why they couldn’t be there; no one cited dubious bias that would prevent them from participating. Having conducted many jury trials as a lawyer, I was surprised and impressed by the genuine and full responses given to the judge. Then we broke for lunch, which included an additional hour of unanticipated waiting. When we finally returned to the courtroom, the defendant had changed out of his jumpsuit and put on a dress shirt and slacks. We were each asked to stand and tell the court our first name, occupation, marital status and spouse’s occupation, the name and age of any children, where in the county we resided, and a hobby. Once everyone had completed this, the state was permitted to ask questions of individuals. There was significant follow-up for those in the medical field – whether they’d dealt with trauma and gunshot wounds – curious given a lack of charge for assault or anything resulting in bodily injury. Finally, the defendant asked us questions. Instead of asking questions of individuals, he asked the group whether we would be fair to him, whether we would hold it against him that he was representing himself, and whether we thought we could make the effort to understand him, even though everyone else in the courtroom was professionally trained. On more than one occasion Crivello corrected him or reminded him what was and was not permissible, cutting him short whenever he asked to make a record. With that, we were excused from the courtroom. Next came a final stretch of waiting. I suspect from experience that the defendant was likely permitted to make whatever record he wanted and the parties then haggled over who would be kicked for cause (because they indicated they could not be unbiased or had some other impediment to service) and who would be each side’s peremptory strikes (Wisconsin law permits each side to eliminate four jurors without reason). Fourteen jurors (twelve impaneled and two alternates) were selected from the first 26 of us. I was last in the box, number 30, so the math to be selected was never in my favor. That was it. We were released and again sent back to jury management at 4 p.m. Jury duty is a lot of waiting, and nearly everyone complained. For most people it’s also a lot of wondering about the many conversations taking place behind closed doors. In the end, though, I enjoyed it and I suspect – deep down – a lot of other people did too. The stakes are high. Everyone treats everything with reverence and respect. In an age when that’s difficult to come by, it was refreshing to know that decorum and civil duty live on in the Milwaukee County Courthouse, at least on this day.
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 Photograph by Margo Kirchner By Margo Kirchner Milwaukee County’s criminal justice system has not fully recovered from pandemic pressures, and some data results from a recent study of the county’s justice system are not easily explained, say a researcher and five local justice-system leaders. The pandemic showed how the county’s criminal justice system is an ecosystem, with changes in one area impacting other areas, several said. However, the leaders of multiple sectors of the county’s criminal justice system continue to work together to get the system back to its pre-pandemic functioning, or better, they said. Milwaukee Police Department Chief Jeffrey Norman; District Attorney John Chisholm; Tom Reed of the State Public Defender’s Office; and the current and former chief judges of Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Carl Ashley and Mary Triggiano, spoke at a Marquette University Law School Lubar Center event last week. They were joined by Wisconsin Policy Forum President Rob Henken. The speakers discussed an August 2023 Wisconsin Policy Forum report analyzing data from 2018 through 2022. The talk was moderated by Lubar Center Director Derek Mosley. Henken started with discussion of his report “Under Pressure: The Milwaukee County Justice System’s Recovery from COVID-19,” highlighting the following quantitative findings:
Henken said the causes of these results could not be pinpointed. However, his research suggested that total offenses may have increased because police were addressing during the pandemic mainly priority calls rather than conducting proactive policing activities. In addition, the number of MPD sworn officers decreased 17% (more than 300 officers) from 2018 through 2022, which may have caused the decrease in arrests, he said. Staffing declines at the district attorney’s office may have resulted in fewer charges, he said. Henken suggested that the system’s recovery from the pandemic is now impeded by workforce challenges. Norman agreed that there is “still a lot we don’t know on why we’re where we’re at.” As explanation for some of the policing data results, such as the reduced arrest numbers, he pointed to problems during the pandemic with insufficient housing for arrestees, which meant that those accused of violent felonies were held while others were released. He also noted the shifting priorities and measures from the administrations of his predecessors. While one prior chief focused on quantitative measurements of policing such as the numbers of arrests, subsequent chiefs transitioned to qualitative measurements. “Policing is an always evolving activity,” he said. Chisholm noted how the criminal justice became a funnel for societal problems — and how that funnel has been overflowing. What is happening in the community affects what is happening in the criminal justice system, too; things are connected, he said. As an example, shutting down schools during the pandemic may have related to young people stealing cars; shutting down resources for victims of domestic violence may have led to more domestic violence issues, he said. He noted that he would like to get back to “the crappy place we were in 2019,” but said there is no finger pointing between the speakers about problems such as high homicide rates — “we all share this.” Reed said the pandemic caused a problematic reduction in the number of SPD attorneys and private bar attorneys willing to take cases when the SPD has a conflict or heavy workload. Court proceedings were put on hold until an attorney could be appointed, frustrating clients, he said. Reed said that 85% of people charged with crimes qualify for appointed counsel due to poverty. Before the pandemic, the ages of SPD attorneys and private-bar defense attorneys “skewed older,” and when the pandemic hit many older attorneys chose to retire, Reed said. One reason for retirement early in the pandemic may have been that before vaccines, older attorneys were reluctant to visit clients in jails and prisons, where COVID-19 was spreading easily. The Legislature’s increase in SPD pay stabilized his staff, and the increased private bar rate (both are features of the recent state budget) helps, Reed said. His office is down to about 100 cases needing attorneys. Former Milwaukee County Chief Judge Triggiano described the leadership group she pulled together even before the nationwide COVID-19 closures in early 2020. The court initially kept employees and litigants at home but worked around the clock to bring jury trials back while keeping participants safe. Jury trials resumed in the summer of 2020. Current Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, who was part of that leadership group, said Triggiano’s inclusion of system representatives such as those from the DA’s office and SPD may have been unusual, but the group discussed what the system participants could do differently to handle pandemic concerns. Ashley is continuing such meetings to keep discussing how the court and system participants can operate differently to improve. He is proud of the relationships he has with the other system partners. The court has about 5,000 pending felony cases, 1,500 of which are backlog, he said. Ashley noted that “we are not going to prison our way out” of safety issues. When asked by Mosley what he needed for the MPD going forward, Norman said “more trust, from everyone,” but he acknowledged that his department needed to earn that trust. When asked by an audience member whether the elimination of the city residency requirement for MPD officers reduced that trust, Norman said that when an officer responds it should not matter where that officer lives. His officers are expected to provide their services and if they fail to, or do it with disrespect, city residents should report it to the department, he said. Reed said that he would like more honor and acknowledgment of the work by the people at the MPD, DA’s office, SPD, and court who perform their work as a calling. Even when mistakes are made, people should “know that it’s still a noble profession.” The Wisconsin Policy Forum report found that a 2021 spike in serious offenses appeared driven by motor vehicle thefts. And while homicides and motor vehicle thefts in the City of Milwaukee increased significantly between 2018 and 2022, all other serious offenses (such as larceny theft, burglary, robbery, and rape) combined dropped. Homicides in the City of Milwaukee increased from 100 in 2018 to 214 in 2022. Motor vehicle thefts in the city spiked from 4,528 in 2020 to 12,344 in 2021, then declined to 9,447 in 2022, though correction of an MPD technical error in reporting may reduce those numbers slightly, according to the report.  Graph from Wisconsin Policy Forum, "Under Pressure: The Milwaukee County Justice System's Recovery from COVID-19," August 2023. The report also described the continuing backlog of felony cases. In March 2023 the number of felony cases in Milwaukee County Circuit Court stood at 5,032, compared with 3,512 cases at the end of December 2019. The number of pending felony cases peaked in January 2022 at 5,405. For a year or two prior to the pandemic, the median age of a felony case in the court ranged between 150 to 200 days. The median age peaked in August 2022 at 331 and at the end of December 2022 was still high at 289 days, according to the report.  Graph from Wisconsin Policy Forum, "Under Pressure: The Milwaukee County Justice System's Recovery from COVID-19," August 2023. WJI Executive Director Margo Kirchner chats with Meagan Winn, director of Milwaukee County's Eviction Diversion Initiative. The Eviction Diversion Initiative is a new program providing tenants and landlords with information and resources to resolve housing issues both inside and outside of court. Avoiding eviction litigation can be important for tenants, as an eviction judgment from (or even the filing of) an eviction lawsuit can make it difficult for tenants to find future housing. The initiative connects tenants and landlords with resources such as rental assistance, housing counseling, legal assistance, and mediation. Funded by a grant from the National Center for State Courts, the program includes data collection and development of user-friendly court rules and procedures. Milwaukee County was one of the first cohort of states and municipalities selected by the National Center for State Courts for funding to pilot eviction-diversion strategies.  Chief Judge Mary Triggiano reported that Milwaukee County Circuit Court is emerging from the pandemic, and the public and justice system participants can look forward to the future with optimism.
The misdemeanor court backlog is gone, and 475 jury trials have taken place since July 2020. Although “it was no cake walk,” the court’s commitment to public health and safety allowed the court to reopen more quickly than other courts around the state, she said. Triggiano gave a state-of-the-court address at the Milwaukee Bar Association’s luncheon meeting on Wednesday, October 12. “Sometimes things worked out” but other times the court “had to go back to the drawing board,” she said. She called the pilot misdemeanor night court run by Judge Christopher Dee a success and noted the addition of multiple felony courts to address the felony court backlog, with reserve judges and court reporters hired using extra funding. Milwaukee County’s felony backlog still makes up about 12% of the backlog statewide, she said. She thanked Deputy Chief Judges Judge William Pocan and Carl Ashley for their assistance in guiding the court through the pandemic while managing their own caseloads. She also thanked Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Maxine Aldridge White “for always taking [her] phone calls” and providing advice. Triggiano indicated that despite the court’s best efforts, the public health crisis took a toll on court staff, causing a wave of resignations and retirements. In addition, the court is impacted by the shortage of defense attorneys available for appointment by the State Public Defender. However, recent funding has allowed for the hiring of eight law clerks for the civil division. The court has received a grant for an eviction diversion coordinator. And Triggiano and Clerk of Court George Christenson worked on a budget that increases staff pay to attract and keep high-quality employees. The court also plans to expand its mental health court, she said. Following Trigginao’s talk a panel of three judges answered questions about the court’s adoption of videoconferencing for court proceedings. Judge Jane Carroll indicated that videoconferencing “is here to stay” and was one good thing that came out of the pandemic. The court now needs to figure out how to best incorporate it going forward, she said. Judge David Feiss remarked that virtual proceedings have made the court rethink its operations. For instance, criminal court had often held “cattle calls” with many cases given the same time for appearance and a full courtroom waiting for cases to be called, he said. Virtual proceedings caused a shift to staggered schedules, which “has improved the quality of the services we provide,” he said. Judge Kevin Martens noted that virtual proceedings may have increased access for some self-represented parties who previously faced challenges in getting to the courthouse. Martens was chief of the civil division during the pandemic and estimated that the length of time civil cases took to resolve probably doubled during the pandemic. However, even though resources may have been taken from the civil division to help the criminal division tackle the backlog there, the pandemic impacted the civil division less than the criminal division because many civil hearings could easily move to a virtual format. Carroll echoed that comment. Because the family division does not hold jury trials and rarely involves someone in custody, that court was able to move very quickly to virtual proceedings, she said. Martens indicated that when jury trials returned to the courthouse the entire civil division was allowed only one civil trial per week. That number is now up to four trials per week, he said. On Aug. 2, four Democrat candidates running for the Milwaukee County sheriff position joined WJI in a virtual forum to answer questions about their professional experience, issues in the sheriff's department, and plans for the office if elected. Candidates (alphabetically) Denita Ball, Brian Barkow, and Thomas Beal appear on the ballot. Mohamed Awad is conducting a write-in campaign. Voters will choose between the candidates in the primary election on Aug. 9. Because no Republican is running, the winner of the primary is expected to win in November as well. If you missed the Salon, or if you want to watch or listen again, click on the image below to view the recording. (Note: Candidate Awad appears in the video without a visual of his person. He did appear visually on screen in the Zoom meeting. However, because of audio difficulties he had to dial in to be heard, so a truncated phone number appears in the video while he is speaking.) Recordings of this and several past Salons are also available on WJI's YouTube channel here. On July 20, Anna Hodges and George Christenson, the Democrat candidates running for Milwaukee County Clerk of Court, joined us to talk about their resumes and answer questions from attendees. Topics ranged from general matters such as the candidates' plans for the office if elected to specifics on divorce judgments, e-filing, and traffic cases. Voters will choose between Hodges and Christenson in the primary election on August 9. Because no Republican is running, the winner of the primary is expected to win in November as well. If you missed the Salon, or if you want to watch or listen again, click on the image below to view the recording. Recordings of this and several past Salons are also available on WJI's YouTube channel here. On Tues., Aug. 2, at noon, WJI will hold a virtual candidate forum with the three Democrat candidates for Milwaukee County Sheriff. You can register for that event here.  Logsdon By Gretchen Schuldt
A County Board committee has recommended, 3-1, rejecting a proposal to support minimum bail for some people charged with crimes. Instead, the Intergovernmental Relations Committee unanimously recommended the state adopt a program similar to New Jersey's, which allows preventive detention of people who have been found by a validated risk-assessment tool to pose a significant danger to the community, and allows release of defendants charged with less serious and non-violent offenses. County Supervisor Patti Logsdon sought support for bills in the legislature that would require a minimum $5,000 bail for anyone accused of a crime who had previously been convicted of bail jumping and a $10,000 bail for anyone accused of a violent misdemeanor or any felony. "These people – they're not following the law," Logsdon told the Intergovernmental Relations Committee. "If you have a felony conviction in the past, you should have a bail set...They need to be put in our jail or House of Correction until we find the facts of it," Logsdon said. She said existence of the minimum bails could also be "a good consideration for them to think before they do the crime." If Darrell Brooks Jr. had not been released from the Milwaukee County Jail on $1,000 bail, she said, the six people he allegedly killed in the Waukesha parade tragedy "would still be with us." Committee members agreed, as has District Attorney John Chisholm, that Brooks should not have been released. Supervisor Anthony Staskunas said he believed the resolution supporting the New Jersey program would be a better way to deal with pre-trial defendants and any threat they may pose. That resolution was introduced by Supervisors Shawn Rolland, Ryan Clancy, and Willie Johnson Jr. "These people aren't convicted of anything yet," Staskunas said. "They're presumed innocent." The minimum-bail proposals, he said, are "unfunded mandates to stuff our House of Correction and stuff our jail when we don't have any room and not give us any money to do anything." Clancy, who is not a committee member, spoke against Logsdon's proposal at the meeting, noting the need to look at data and "what actually works, rather than what feels like justice." "I understand the desire for justice in this case (the Waukesha parade tragedy) in particular as well as in others, but this resolution does not get us closer to justice, but to vengeance," he said. The "people of Milwaukee County deserve safety, not punitive retribution." "Higher bails do not keep us safe," Mia Noel, founder and director of the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, told the committee. "They keep poor people in jail for months," she said. "Additionally, it costs Wisconsin taxpayers millions of dollars a year to keep poor people in jail." Johnson was the only committee member to support Logsdon's resolution. Supervisors Joseph Czarnezki, who is committee chair and a WJI Board member, Staskunas, and Sequanna Taylor opposed it.  Czarnezki and Clancy By Gretchen Schuldt The Milwaukee County Board on Monday unanimously approved establishing a program to provide defense counsel to indigent defendants accused of violating county ordinances. The measure, introduced by Supervisors Joseph Czarnezki and Ryan Clancy, picked up 11 additional sponsors during Monday's meeting. They were Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson, and Supervisors Priscilla E. Coggs-Jones, Eddie Cullen, Russell Antonio Goodwin Sr., Jason Haas, Willie Johnson, Jr., Patti Logsdon, Felesia Martin, Shawn Rolland, Steven Shea, and Sequanna Taylor. Czarnezki, during the Board discussion, noted that the county put significant resources into writing tickets, prosecuting their recipients, and collecting forfeiture amounts owed. Yet defendants are expected to represent themselves in court without assistance if they cannot afford it, he said. (Full disclosure: Czarnezki is a WJI Board member.) Approving the pilot is a small thing the county can do to improve justice and equity in the county, he said. "By providing funding for legal counsel for indigent individuals, County Board members showed they believe in justice for the most vulnerable in our community," he said after the meeting. The 17-0 vote came during the County Board's deliberations on the 2022 county budget. The budget still must be approved by County Executive David Crowley.  Because county ordinance violations are considered civil and not criminal violations, poor people accused of them are not entitled to government-provided attorneys if they cannot afford to hire their own.
Clancy said ordinance forfeitures were a "tax on the poor" and that he would prefer that fewer citations be written. "It really is an inherently unfair system," he said. The attorney pilot program is "an elegant solution," he said. Under the amendment, the corporation counsel's office would seek proposals for a contract attorney to represent the defendants. The $50,000 program would be a pilot, and data would be collected to help determine if it should be continued. The program would be patterned after one operated by Legal Action of Wisconsin that provides defense lawyers for indigent defendants in Milwaukee Municipal Court, which hears cases involving city ordinances. State law mandates that people arrested for certain ordinance violations, such as controlled substance offenses or some gambling cases, have their personal and arrest information entered into the state's criminal database, where it is available to potential employers, colleges, landlords, or anyone else with the $7 fee to get it, Czarnezki said. While those who are never actually charged or who are acquitted can request that their information be removed from the database if they submit a request and their fingerprints, most people don't know how to go about doing that. A lawyer, Czarnezki said, can help clients negotiate the court process. remind them about court dates, help them with payment plans, and help get records removed from the state database. Milwaukee County courts: Staff, defense lawyer shortages, and recommended $3 raises for COs10/28/2021  Triggiano By Margo Kirchner
and Gretchen Schuldt The Milwaukee County court system’s biggest challenge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is staffing, according to Chief Judge Mary Triggiano. And while the County Board’s Finance Committee on Thursday tried to address part of the systemwide shortage by recommending a $3-per-hour raise for correction officers, the county has not addressed another shortage – that of defense lawyers to represent indigent defendants in criminal cases. Triggiano, at a recent Zoom town hall hosted by the Milwaukee Bar Association and the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, said there were shortages of deputy court clerks, court reporters, and interpreters. Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Department has reduced staff, so courts must coordinate with that department regarding bailiffs. Triggiano asked for patience by attorneys as courts work to solve staffing issues. Tom Reed, regional attorney manager for the State Public Defender, said there also is a significant shortage of private-bar attorneys available to take SPD appointments. (Private-bar lawyers take cases when the SPD has a conflict or lacks capacity.) About 270 cases currently await appointment of counsel, he said. About 150 of those have been delayed more than 20 days, while 40 or 50 have been delayed more than 40 days. Many defendants awaiting appointment are in custody, which makes the attorney shortage a serious problem, he said. Defendants are constitutionally entitled to effective assistance of counsel. Reed attributed the shortage in part to a 35% reduction in attorneys on the appointment list as compared to two years ago. He asked attorneys on the list to take a few more cases each and for lawyers not on the list to join it. Reed also discussed how correction officer shortages at the Milwaukee County Jail and House of Correction are affecting defense attorneys. Because fewer corrections staff are available to move clients to Zoom stations, virtual meetings with defense counsel now occur only a few hours each day. Increased lockdowns may prevent clients from telephoning their attorneys when expected, making attorney-client communication even more difficult. The Finance Committee vote Thursday on the $3 “premium” pay increase is meant to make the county’s wages for correction officers more competitive with those in neighboring counties. Right now, at $20.58 per hour, Milwaukee County correction officer pay is the lowest in the region. The correction officer vacancy rate is about 27%, according to a report on the issue from county Budget Director Joe Lamers. Of 569 budgeted positions, 415 were filled and 154 were not as of the Sept. 9 payroll period. Correction officers have been forced to work extreme amounts of overtime and people incarcerated in the jail have been locked in their cells for long periods of time because of the lack of staff to supervise them, officials said. Under the committee’s recommendation, the pay hike would go to correction officers who are vaccinated for COVID-19 or who have a valid medical or religious excuse. The proposal would cost up to $941,000 this year, $4 million next year, and $5.1 million in 2023. The money would come from the county’s contingent fund this year and COVID relief funds next year. The funding source after that is not identified, leaving a possible hole in the county budget. While the county aims to make the raise permanent, it can be rolled back if necessary, Lamers said. Others in the justice system also are advocating for additional money. Several defense attorneys at the Zoom meeting pointed to the low rate of pay for private-bar attorneys as the primary obstacle in getting lawyers to take indigent clients. Even though the hourly rate for SPD-appointed lawyers increased from $40 to $70 a couple years ago, that amount is still too low, they said. The $70 must cover wages and attorneys’ overhead, including office space, utilities, staff, and insurance. Several attorneys expressed confidence that if the rate rose to $150, $120, or even $100, more attorneys would accept cases. One attorney said that the $70 rate is “insulting” because appointments in civil cases are paid at $100 per hour and the federal criminal-defense rate is $155 per hour. Czarnezki and Clancy By Gretchen Schuldt
A Milwaukee County Board committee on Tuesday unanimously recommended establishing a program to provide defense counsel to indigent defendants accused of violating county ordinances. The county pays for sheriff's deputies to write tickets, lawyers to prosecute the cases, and agencies to collect overdue payments of forfeitures levied as a result, Supervisor Joseph Czarnezki, a sponsor of the measure, told the Finance Committee. (Full disclosure: Czarnezki is a WJI Board member.) Yet defendants are expected to represent themselves, even if they don't understand what is going on in the courtroom or how to proceed. "This is not what I would call justice," Czarnezki said. Under the proposed 2022 budget amendment, co-sponsored by Supervisor Ryan Clancy, the corporation counsel's office would seek proposals for a contract attorney to represent the defendants. The $50,000 program would be a pilot, and data would be collected to help determine if it should be continued. The program would be patterned after one operated by Legal Action of Wisconsin that provides defense lawyers for indigent defendants in Milwaukee Municipal Court, which hears cases involving city ordinances. While indigent defendants in criminal cases are provided with publicly-funded lawyers, poor people accused of ordinance violations are not provided with lawyers because the violations are considered civil, not criminal, matters. Generally, those wanting legal representation ordinance cases must hire their own lawyers. State law mandates that people arrested for certain ordinance violations, such as controlled substance offenses or some gambling cases, have their personal and arrest information entered into the state's criminal database, where it is available to potential employers, colleges, landlords, or anyone else with the $7 fee to get it, Czarnezki said. While those who are never actually charged or who are acquitted can request that their information be removed from the database, most people don't know how to go about doing that. A lawyer, Czarnezki said, can help clients negotiate the court process. remind them about court dates, help them with payment plans, and help get records removed from the state database. As a matter of equity, he said, "I think this is something we should do." Clancy, who sponsored unsuccessful measures to reallocate some Sheriff's Department funding, said that having fewer deputies making arrests would be best, but the attorney resolution is "the second-best way to go." |
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