Chief justice goes on lobbying campaign

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson is asking judges and attorneys to lobby for the money the courts are requesting for the 2015-17 biennial budget.

The chief justice, while giving her state of the courts speech at Wednesday’s Judicial Conference’s annual meeting in Appleton, told those in attendance to call their elected officials and staffers to let them know why their request is important.

“I have learned that being a fair, neutral, impartial and nonpartisan judge does not mean sitting in the courthouse in judicial isolation,” Abrahamson said during her speech Wednesday.

The courts are asking for a $21,174,200 increase in its next budget. Among the requests is $8.7 million to reimburse the counties for court expenses, $2.1 million to hire eight staffers to get an e-filing proposal off the ground and money to give raises to the state’s judges.

Abrahamson said this next budget is important, though, since the courts system was required to push $11.8 million from its current budget to its next biennial budget.

“With a large lapse of course that tells us, ‘Hey, we have to work harder,'” she said after the speech.

The budget will be debated and set in the next legislative session, which begins in January.

The chief justice told the crowd Wednesday that there is a lot of opportunity to get across the courts’ message, since a large part of the Legislature will be newly elected and may not be familiar with the courts system.

“We must ensure that the leaders in state and local government and the people of this state understand the role of the courts, how our branch is funded and the importance of our budget requests to our work,” Abrahamson said.

She said she will meet with Gov. Scott Walker and attorney general-elect Brad Schimel, as well as members of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee and leadership in both parties. She said the courts have worked to save money through not filling vacancies, using fewer reserve judges and limiting travel expenses, but at some point that will not be enough to sustain the system.

“I am concerned, as you all are, about the judiciary’s ability to perform its constitutional obligations as a co-equal, independent branch of government,” she said.

The chief justice’s speech is indicative of the push the courts have been making all year, long before the actual proposal was introduced in October.

Earlier this year, then-Director of State Courts John Voelker made rounds with judges, attorneys and community organizations to drum up support to get 1 percent of the state’s tax revenue, or an additional $28.8 million. The court currently receives 0.85 percent, though Abrahamson noted in an interview after her speech that the court’s next request is not for 1 percent.

In February, when Voelker was making the rounds, he said he received a chilly reception when he broached the topic with legislators.

“You can talk to a relatively few number of people and get an idea of how successful you might be in getting this done,” Voelker said at the time.

Abrahamson seemed more optimistic Wednesday, though. She noted after her speech that a Legislative Council committee has recommended expanding treatment court programs — part of which aligned with the courts’ budget request — and that the program originally started in the courts.

“When you see that they work, then they’re expanded, and the Legislature has done that,” Abrahamson said after her speech. “And I’m sure that when they know of these other projects and understand them … its my hope and belief that they’ll give more money so we can continue working.”

Still, she noted that in every state of the courts speech she has given, she talked about the need for more money. With the courts still facing a lapse, though, she said she made a bigger push this year.

“We always ask the judges to do that for people they know, and they’re active in their communities,” Abrahamson said. “I just asked this time.”

Editor’s Note: The story was updated Nov. 20, 2014, to reflect the courts’ budget request when it includes the Wisconsin Judicial Council and Wisconsin Judicial Commission.