District Four Chief Judge Barbara Hart Key, Winnebago County Circuit Court, standing, addresses a joint meeting of the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Committee of Chief Judges
Supreme Court justices, chief judges hold joint meeting
Wisconsin Supreme Court justices, members of the Committee of Chief Judges and district court administrators held their annual joint meeting in Madison on April 5. The meeting provided not only a good opportunity for justices and judges to discuss administrative issues, but also to connect in person, said Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler, who presided over the meeting.
Justices heard presentations from three chief judges on how the pandemic has affected court operations in counties, large and small, and what is being done to address criminal case backlogs. District One Chief Judge Mary Triggiano, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, said Milwaukee County justice system partners there joined together to seek American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to increase criminal court case processing capacity.
In March, Gov. Tony Evers approved ARPA funding of about $16 million to be used across a number of Milwaukee County agencies and departments over the next two years. The goal is to open five new criminal courts and eliminate a criminal case backlog in the next 18 months, Triggiano said.
District Ten Chief Judge Maureen D. Boyle, Barron County Circuit Court, said many smaller counties are working across jurisdictions to support each other. For example, when a defendant requests judicial substitution in a single-judge county, a judge from a nearby county is often willing to handle some proceedings via Zoom. Wisconsin has 26 counties with only one judge, and Zoom reduces the need for repeated travel across county lines, Boyle said.
Mid-sized counties are also working to increase case-processing capacity to address backlogs, said District Two Chief Judge Jason A. Rossell, Kenosha County Circuit Court. District Two includes Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties.
Like Waukesha County Circuit Court, Kenosha and Racine County Circuit Courts are making use of reserve judges to handle more civil cases, while sitting judges are taking on more of the criminal caseload, Rossell said.
Staffing shortages in a number of work areas and a lack of defense attorneys in some parts of the state are also affecting the ability of some courts to timely process criminal cases, the chief judges said.