The Brown County District Attorney’s office is expected to get a large boost after the Joint Committee on Finance voted June 17 to include more assistant district attorneys and funding for pay increases for prosecutors statewide in the state budget.
The committee approved a motion to add 42 ADAs in offices around the state to increase staffing and help address large caseloads. Brown County would get seven more ADAs to help alleviate part of its surging backlog of cases. The new prosecutors have an expected start date of October.
The motion also includes $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second year to provide pay raises for public defenders and district attorneys. It also includes money to upgrade case tracking system technology in DA offices and hire support staff for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office.
The extra funding and staffing comes after the JFC voted against another budget motion June 10 that was introduced by state Rep. Ben Franklin, R-De Pere, to specifically support Brown County by adding two circuit court judges, three assistant district attorneys, two court reporters and two support staff members for the public defender’s office in Green Bay.
Local legislators and county officials have been pushing for relief on Brown County Circuit Court for months to reduce the rising backlog of cases that has reached over 4,600 open criminal cases by the end of 2024. More than 500 cases involving a felony charge have been awaiting an answer for at least two years.
Surrounding counties in northeastern Wisconsin also would get more staffing. Two ADAs would join Shawano and Menominee counties joint office, and both Outagamie and Manitowoc counties.
State Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Oconto, is on the Joint Finance Committee and celebrated the committee’s vote to hire more assistant district attorneys.
“Investing in new assistant district attorneys across Wisconsin is an important part of tackling the rising case backlog in courtrooms across our state. These ADAs will help process cases and deliver swift justice,” Wimberger said in a statement June 17.
Wisconsin’s next two-year budget cycle begins July 1. If a new budget isn’t passed by the Legislature and signed into law by then, state agencies would operate at their existing funding levels until a new budget is put in place.
How will it affect the case backlog?
Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach said the additional ADA staffing and pay increases is a “big win” for the county.
However, it’s unclear what kind of impact it will have on the amount of backlogged cases making its way through court. “It’s a wait and see,” Streckenbach said.
Addressing workloads in the district attorney’s office is one major part of the court system. With more prosecutors, the ADAs will be able to take on more cases but how long it will take to get through the process still depends on other parties in the courtroom.
The state public defender’s office previously told the Press-Gazette at the end of 2024 that retaining attorneys was a problem affecting their growing caseloads. While increasing pay would help, a shortage of available attorneys to hire in the state remained a difficulty.
Since Brown County didn’t get additional judges, it’s hard to tell how long it will take to clear around 5,000 open cases.
“If all of a sudden you add seven more attorneys, is there additional capacity within the judges’ calendars now to pick up those cases, and you may just now be waiting for a public defender to be brought to the case,” Streckenbach said.
Previously, Streckenbach had cautioned the county may have to build another jail if sufficient funding from the state for the court system doesn’t come through. That still depends on future court funding to match the JFC’s support for district attorneys.
“This is a larger step in the appropriate direction and we appreciate it. It’s too early to make that assessment.” he said. “We’re still in the same pickle — we have all the ADAs but we still have a backlog of judges.”
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Brown County to get more assistant district attorneys in the state budget, but is it enough to reduce the case backlog?
Reporting by Benita Mathew, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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