Legislature passes municipal court updates

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Black robes may soon be mandatory for all Wisconsin municipal court judges.

While that may seem like a common sense mandate, it is not specified in the current statutes governing the more than 250 judges who primarily handle initial drunken driving offenses and ordinance violations.

New legislation will require the traditional attire and also update approximately 40 other procedural and administrative responsibilities for municipal court judges. Earlier this month, both the Assembly and Senate passed the bill, which is expected to be signed by Gov. Jim Doyle.

“I don’t envision this being at all controversial,” said Madison Municipal Judge Daniel P. Koval.

The revisions to Wis. Stat. 755 and 800 are long overdue, according to Milwaukee Municipal Court Judge Derek C. Mosley, who is President of the Wisconsin Municipal Judges’ Association (WMJA), which drafted the legislation.

“The statutes haven’t been revisited for decades and the courts have changed dramatically over the years,” Mosley said. “This will provide some statewide consistency.”

According to Koval, who is Legislative Chairman of the WMJA, Wis. Stat. 800 hasn’t been substantially updated since 1987 and Wis. Stat. 755 has remained stagnant since its inception in 1977.

Mosley said Milwaukee County, which has 23 municipal court judges, will be completely paperless by the end of the year, something which wasn’t foreseen when the statutes were created.

Among the changes which will modernize procedures is judges will have the ability to teleconference with expert witnesses in trials, something they cannot do now. This could be particularly beneficial in drug cases where a Madison crime lab technician may be needed to testify for a case in Milwaukee.

“It’s usually tough because we get trumped by the circuit courts,” Mosley said. “If we set a trial date today, we may not be able to get a chemical expert until August.”

Outside of the courtroom, the legislation establishes uniform four-year terms for all municipal court judges. Currently, judges serve two-to-four year terms, as dictated by local ordinance.

Mosley, who joined the court in 2002, said this is problematic because in some cases judges only have a short time to establish themselves before having to run again.

“If you are running every two years, it’s difficult, especially in those one-judge shop courts,” he said. “It can be a lot to absorb and then to turn around and have to run again is tough.”

Municipal courts, especially in smaller jurisdictions, will also have to distinguish themselves as independent from local police departments.

The legislation prohibits municipalities from locating the municipal court or the court personnel within the municipal police department.

Koval said it is common in areas with one judge to have the court essentially share space in a building with law enforcement officials.

“There has been concern for a number of years about the way some of the courts were set up,” he said. “For smaller municipalities we wanted to make sure the lines aren’t blurred between municipal court and the police department.”

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected].