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Jenswold a driven resource for traffic-law cases

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//February 21, 2019//

Jenswold a driven resource for traffic-law cases

By: Erika Strebel, [email protected]//February 21, 2019//

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Tara Jenswold - Wisconsin Department of Justice
Tara Jenswold –
Wisconsin Department of Justice

Like most rookie prosecutors, Tara Jenswold cut her teeth by taking on a load of traffic cases.

Nearly 20 years after gaining that experience in Walworth County, Jenswold can count herself among the state’s traffic-law gurus.

The assistant attorney general and traffic-safety resource prosecutor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice spends about 60 percent of her time providing training and other sorts of help to prosecutors and law-enforcement officials. The remaining 40 percent involves casework.

“I like being in a position to help people,” Jenswold said. “In the resource part of the position, people come to ask for guidance or advice because I’m an expert in the field … With the casework … you’re working with victims or families. You’re helping them navigate the system and achieve some sort of justice, whatever that might look like.”

Jenswold draws much of her motivation from the victims she helps.

“It’s all the victims that I’ve worked with that inspire me to be better — in my job and in my personal life,” she said. “To see them handle the most unimaginable tragedy with such grace is inspiring. While I can’t do anything to bring their loved-one back, I can help them navigate the criminal justice system.”

Jenswold said many people, even other prosecutors, often underestimate the complexity and difficulty of traffic cases.

“They’re much more technical than you would think,” she said. “They involve science, and they’re typically well-defended because the people that commit those crimes are people who have a lot to lose generally.”

Eau Claire County Deputy City Attorney Doug Hoffer got to know Jenswold because of the work she’s done organizing a seminar on OWI law for state prosecutors.

“She’s such a great resource in general for questions,” he said. “I don’t think you can understand how important of a resource she is for the state of Wisconsin.”

Hoffer himself benefitted from Jenswold’s help on one of his recent cases, a dispute that made it all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She and others at the Department of Justice arranged a moot court to help prepare him for oral arguments.

Hoffer said Jenswold often gets called on to try cases around the state, especially in small counties that don’t have the resources needed to take on certain types of serious, complex OWI felonies.

“This is hard, important work she’s doing,” Hoffer said.

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