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Diel: Action needed on SPD, ADA issues

By: dmc-admin//August 4, 2008//

Diel: Action needed on SPD, ADA issues

By: dmc-admin//August 4, 2008//

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ImageState Bar of Wisconsin President Diane S. Diel is hoping that a few more voices will be enough to get the message across to Gov. Jim Doyle that the current justice system is in need of repair.

Diel recently authored a pair of letters to Doyle asking for state assistance in solving the prosecutor shortage as well as the stagnant level of compensation for private bar attorneys who take assignments from the State Public Defender’s Office (SPD)

But until formal proposals for the next budget cycle begins in the fall, both the SPD and district attorneys continue to cope with current funding deficiencies and pending personnel losses.

“Our prosecutors now take 68 years in office to reach the top of a very modest pay scale and private bar public defenders are paid $40 an hour in a universe in which videographers of the state are paid $200 per hour,” said Diel. “Is this helpful for the justice system? I think not.”

Doyle spokesperson Carla Vigue said the governor received the letters and will evaluate the state’s options.

“The governor is aware of the State Bar’s request and it is under consideration,” said Vigue. “No decisions have been made yet.”

County Shortfall

Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm said Diel’s gesture was unexpected, but appreciated.

At the same time, Chisholm said his office is reeling from the recent revelation that a longtime source of federal funding for state prosecutors will not be restored. He traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby for reinstatement of the Edward Byrne Grant Fund, which was slashed by 68 percent nationally.

“This is timely in the sense that we’re in the process of submitting our budget request to the state government, so this highlights the fact that we’re going to lose positions one way or another,” said Chisholm of Diel’s request.

If another source of funding is not secured by the end of the year, Chisholm said his office is almost certain to cut between eight and 15 positions in 2009.

In June, the Office of Justice Assistance (OJA) and the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) authorized a waiver to temporarily salvage two assistant district attorney positions set to be eliminated in Milwaukee at the end of that month.

But Chisholm said his office is still waiting for the funding attached to the waiver and it is getting harder to retain prosecutors with experience.

“Just in the last two months, we’ve lost five of my mid-level prosecutors from the violent crime unit,” said Chisholm, who added that 47 of approximately 120 prosecutors in the county have less than four-and-a-half years of experience.

Diel pointed to the LAB report, which indicated a 4.4 percent decline statewide in the number of prosecutors from 2002-2006, combined with an 11.5 percent increase in the number of case referrals during the same time.

Chisholm suggested one solution could be instead of returning a $100,000 salary of a retired prosecutor back into the general fund, reinvest that money into two new district attorney positions.

“Right now experience is retiring and its not being replaced by anything,” said Chisholm.

Defense of the Poor

The same is true for the SPD, which has seen a dip in the number of private bar attorneys certified to take appointments.

According to Agency Budget Director Megan Christiansen, there are currently 1,079 attorneys on the appointment list, compared to 1,260 in fiscal year 2006. Christiansen did note that the number of attorneys who took at least one case this year (975) is comparable to that of recent years.

“Even though the numbers are down, the active case takers are about the same,” said Christiansen.

While the quantity of attorneys accepting at least one case has remained consistent, Diel said the low compensation rate is reducing the quality of lawyers taking appointments.

Since 1995, the statutory rate for compensation has remained at $40 per hour for court time. At that time, the hourly rate of pay for private attorneys actually decreased from $50 to $40.

“The low rate makes it increasingly difficult to find qualified lawyers to take SPD appointments, resulting in delays and postponement of cases,” said Diel.

SPD Public Information Officer Randy Kraft cited the radical difference in hourly rates paid by the state for other professionally contracted services. According to the state VendorNet system, a video editor earns $225 per hour and occupational safety consultants earn $135 to $145 per hour.

Kraft calculated that if the $35 per hour rate for appointments set in 1978 had been adjusted for inflation, it would have amounted to more than $118 per hour in 2007.

Rather than seeking triple-digit compensation during the next budget cycle, Kraft said the SPD board could seek at least the $70 per hour rate paid by counties for private bar appointments as mandated by SCR 81.02.

“The SPD Board is currently assembling its budget request and we anticipate that they would make a private bar rate priority as they have in prior budget requests,” said Kraft.

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