Senate Bill seeks to preserve ADA positions

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Federal funding for more than 20 assistant district attorney positions in Wisconsin will end by the start of next year, compounding the prosecution shortages revealed in a 2007 report.

The scarcity of state resources and the impending end to the legislative session are two of the obstacles facing Senate Bill 497. The bill calls for an emergency appropriation of more than $880,000 in General Purpose Revenue (GPR) to continue funding for 21.3 assistant district attorney positions in seven counties.

But even supporters of the bill admit the solution is only a stop-gap after a report last year by the Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB) indicated Wisconsin is short 132 prosecutor positions.

“It doesn’t solve the problem, but it says let’s stop the backsliding so we can make a better case during the next budget season,” said state Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, who introduced the bill.

Following a public hearing on Feb. 26, the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Corrections and Housing forwarded the bill by a 3-2 vote the next day. No further action had been scheduled at press time and the current legislative session ends on March 13.

“We get lots of bills that tug at your heartstrings and indicate a sense of urgency, but where do you get the money from,” said state Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, who opposed the bill.

Temporary Fix

Currently, 21.3 prosecutor positions are largely funded through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant, but the federal support will end on either July 1 of this year or Jan. 1, 2009, depending on the county.

Though she did not deny the importance of the positions, Lazich wondered why the bill was not presented until the end of the session, when numerous organizations are competing for state dollars.

“The sky is always falling and now that we’re at the end of the session, the sky is suddenly falling on a number of things,” said Lazich.

Jeffrey P. Greipp, head of Milwaukee County’s Domestic Violence Unit indicated that Congress announced cuts to the Byrne Grant in December 2007 and it took time to assess the impact on Wisconsin.

The reduction in national funds from $520 million annually, to about $170 million, left many states, including Wisconsin, facing the reality of a nearly two-thirds cut in resources.

“It’s getting to the point where we’ll have to be honest with the public and ask them to tell us which cases they don’t want us to prosecute,” said, Greipp, who would lose five positions when federal funding ends.

Milwaukee Hit Hard

The most significant losses, in terms of numbers, would come in Milwaukee County.

Federal assistance for two full-time positions will end on July 1, 2008 and an additional 14 full-time assistant district attorneys will be out of work on Jan. 1, 2009 if the legislation fails to pass.

All five community prosecutors, along with as many from the domestic violence and drug units would be cut, according to Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm.

“What hurts the most is those are 16 people I hired, but the policy is last in first out,” said Chisholm, who added that 40 of 125 state prosecutor positions in Milwaukee are currently federally funded.

The cuts would further restrict the ability of specialized units in the district attorney’s office to operate, according to Chisholm, who cited the strides made by the domestic violence unit.

When reached for comment, Greipp was in Florida presenting the Milwaukee model for domestic violence prosecution at the National College of District Attorneys.

“It’s a great irony that Jeff is down there talking about our nationally recognized model and may be coming home to a bare cupboard,” said Chisholm.

Potential Solutions

Although state Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, voted against the bill purely because of the financial implications, he hoped Gov. Jim Doyle would consider the legislation in his budget repair bill.

“I think we should be able to find money for the district attorneys, but it should not have been brought as a stand-alone bill,” said Grothman. “They made a good case.”

Greipp, who is on the executive board for the Association of State Prosecutors, said it was unlikely the bill would reach the Assembly floor prior to March 14, so insertion into Doyle’s plan is an option.

“Hopefully, this bill would get us to the next budget session where we can rationally discuss how to transition out of these programs,” said Greipp.

Sullivan said without approval of the bill, job loss would be a certainty and the challenge of restoring those positions or any of the other 132 recommended in the LAB report would be made more difficult.

“If we can’t get this through now, we’re going to lose people,” said Sullivan. “The danger is when you start losing those people, especially younger attorneys, you may never be able to recapture them.”