Justice is priceless – but it’s not free
Tom Basting, President
State Bar of Wisconsin
September 4, 2007
A recent state audit revealed
that Wisconsin has 117 fewer prosecutors than we need to handle the
increasing number of criminal cases referred to district attorneys by
local police. The audit showed that between 2002 and 2006, the number of
prosecutors in the state dropped 4.4% while the number of prosecutions
filed increased 11.5%. It concluded that Wisconsin has 27% fewer
assistant district attorneys than we need and that 63 of our 72 counties
are understaffed.
This finding is one more sign of a chronically under-funded criminal
justice system in Wisconsin affecting not just prosecutors, but court
operations and public defenders as well. This leads to longer delays for
justice; serious crimes not getting the attention they deserve; and
potential outcomes that fail to advance the goal of promoting justice
and protecting public safety. For well over a decade, public officials
have loudly waved the anti-crime banner: calling for (and often
delivering) dramatically increased maximum criminal penalties; new
minimum mandatory sentences for certain crimes; and criminalizing
behavior that once was legal. Yet the voices of these same crusaders
often fall silent when it comes to paying the costs associated with
these initiatives.
Prison funding stands out as the one component of the justice system
that has increased substantially, rising 267% between 1992 and 2004 (as
our prison population tripled from 7,500 to almost 22,000). Yet,
throughout this crackdown on crime, the Legislature has failed to
adequately fund the system responsible for bringing criminals to justice
and protecting the rights of crime victims and the innocent. That system
is now straining under the burden of new crimes, longer sentences and
inadequate resources.
In addition to prosecutors, our circuit court system and the State
Public Defender’s office have felt this strain. A weighted
caseload study completed by the National Center for State
Courts found that Wisconsin needs some 18 additional judges and
support staff (e.g., clerks and court reporters) to handle the
increasing caseload. Several indicators underscore the under-funding of
public defenders. To be determined poor enough to qualify for a public
defender, a Wisconsin resident must meet the eligibility standards for
the old AFDC welfare program – standards that were last
adjusted in 1987! The result is that only those living in abject poverty
qualify for a public defender in Wisconsin. In addition, the state can
only pay private attorneys who take public defender cases $40 per hour,
a rate that has not been increased since 1992. In 1978 the state paid
these attorneys $35 per hour; if it had increased payments at just the
rate of inflation the amount would be over $106 per hour today. By
comparison, the state pays contract occupational safety consultants as
much as $145 per hour and contract photographers as much as $200 per
hour.
The Legislature must acknowledge the justice system funding crisis it
has helped to create and include sufficient resources in the 2007-09
State Budget to begin to meet those needs. We can all agree that justice
is priceless – but we must also recognize that it’s not
free. To protect the rights of all Wisconsin citizens, we must meet our
obligation to adequately fund the state’s entire criminal justice
system, including prosecutors, courts and public defenders.
