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Full-court pressure: Day jobs slow pick-up games to a dribble (VIDEO)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//June 23, 2011//

Full-court pressure: Day jobs slow pick-up games to a dribble (VIDEO)

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//June 23, 2011//

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Lawyers, judges and law enforcement play in a pick-up basketball game on Tuesday in the Michael S. Wolke Gym at the Milwaukee County Safety Building. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)
Lawyers, judges and law enforcement officials play in a pick-up basketball game Tuesday in the Michael S. Wolke Gym at the Milwaukee County Safety Building. (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

Attorney Chris MacGillis breaks into a sprint, nothing but open court in front of him.

As he runs, he looks back at Roy Williams, Milwaukee’s corporation counsel, waiting for him to see the opening. Williams obliges and hits MacGillis with a spot-on lead.

There’s nothing left for MacGillis to do except float to the rim and close the deal.

But closing deals isn’t always so easy for MacGillis and Williams. The two are professional adversaries, often going nose to nose in court.

MacGillis, a private lawyer in Milwaukee, also is an attorney for the Milwaukee County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and regularly takes on Williams and the county in union grievances.

“We see each other almost weekly at fairly contentious hearings,” Williams said.

But on Fridays for about an hour, they shed their day jobs and focus on a different kind of court, this one rewarding fast breaks and crisp passes over strong arguments and compelling briefs.

The lunch hour pick-up basketball games, which often run four days a week in the Michael S. Wolke Gym in the basement of the Milwaukee County Safety Building, draw attorneys, judges and law enforcement workers.

MacGillis joined the Friday game in September.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I first heard about the games,” he said. “Was this going to be competitive, or was this going to be a bunch of old-timers in their late 60s?”

It’s still a competitive game, though participation is on the decline because the players just don’t have as much time to play.

“I think we might be at risk of losing our Tuesday game,” said Michael Dwyer, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge who has played since 2001.

Dwyer, 55, said cutbacks, judicial rotations and increased workloads have contributed to a gradual decrease in available players.

“Some days,” he said, “we’re lucky to get 10.”

But everyone is busier, said Williams, who started playing in 1997. His department is down three attorneys, and the increased workload forces Williams to work though lunch most days.

“It’s hard to do,” he said. “It’s the same for deputies, and a lot of times they will leave games early because they have to get over to the jail to transport inmates.”

Even prosecutors, pick-up game staples as recently as a decade ago, are scarce, said Jerry Rieder, a 78-year-old former Sheriff’s Department deputy who still plays after more than three decades. He attributed the void to staff shortages that force newer assistant district attorneys to handle higher caseloads, which, in turn, means veteran prosecutors have to provide more oversight.

“There isn’t anyone in the middle there anymore,” said Rieder, now the business agent for the Milwaukee County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. “I think that is a big part of not seeing any prosecutors come out.”

A 2007 report by the state’s Legislative Audit Bureau showed Wisconsin is short more than 120 assistant district attorneys, and little has been done to reduce that number in the past four years.

Still, the decline in players puzzles Dwyer and Rieder because the game is far from an underground or secretive affair. The only requirements are paying an $85 annual membership to the gym and the ability, in the loosest sense, to play ball.

Milwaukee criminal defense lawyer Chris Bailey, 39, was a basketball novice prior to joining in 2001 as a way to build up his strength after surviving cancer.

“It’s a place to talk a little trash,” he said, “and talk a little shop as well.”

But the competition is intense, regardless of ability.

“I had never broken a bone until I played basketball down here and a deputy broke a bone in my left hand,” Williams said. “I told him I was going to serve him with a summons and complaint.”

Fred Rosa, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge, has fractured a finger, needed stitches and ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing. His judicial rotation in Children’s Court in Wauwatosa kept him away from the court for four years, but he returned June 17.

“I love it,” he said, “and that’s what keeps me coming back.”

And for now, there’s still a game, though MacGillis, 29, just moved it closer to a verdict with an uncontested layup.

“He’s a ringer,” Dwyer shouts sarcastically.

Coming from a judge, MacGillis said, the remark is as much a compliment as it is a dig.

“There are always a few jabs,” he said, “but as a young guy, I’m still trying to earn my credit here.”

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].

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