Judicial Council might get new home

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In talking with court representatives and lawmakers, a member of the Judicial Council may have found an answer to the council’s budget woes.

The Judicial Council is a 21-member independent body made up of lawyers, judges, lawmakers and other stakeholders in the legal system. The council studies and proposes changes to court procedures and polices.

Gov. Scott Walker stripped the council of its staff attorney and entire budget two years ago after council members approved a raise for their then-staff attorney, April Southwick.

Bill Gleisner, a council member, later volunteered to take over many of Southwick’s duties, including responding to a recent public-records request, and the council has tried to continue its work.

Planning for the state’s next biennial budget, the council requested about $200,700 to pay for a staff attorney and expenses related to coming to Madison for meetings, among other things. However, Gov. Tony Evers did not include money for the council in his budget proposal. Meanwhile, the state’s budget-writing committee has already begun its work reviewing the proposal.

But the budget process is not the only way the council can solve its troubles.

At the council’s meeting on Friday, the member Van Wanggaard, who is a state Senator, reported that, in talking with lawmakers and court representatives, he found that the best step might be to attach the Judicial Council to the Legislative Council, a nonpartisan state agency that, among other things, provides legal advice and services to the state Legislature and its committees. The director of the Legislative Council, Anne Sappenfield, was receptive to the idea, and the majority leaders in both houses of the state Legislature have said they would support it, Wanggaard said.

The proposal can either be introduced as a separate bill rather or as a motion in the budget process. The budget-writing committee has not yet taken up the council’s budget. Follow @erikastrebel