In Wisconsin, where starting pay for public defenders is $27 an hour, there's a shortage of 60 attorney positions statewide.

A bill to restore raises for state public defenders is moving forward in the Wisconsin Assembly.

The state’s powerful budget writing committee voted on Tuesday afternoon to increase pay for prosecutors and public defenders as well as increase compensation for private attorneys appointed to represent indigent criminal defendants.

Republicans in Wisconsin's state Assembly are supporting raising the pay for attorneys who represent poor defendants, as the state faces a class-action lawsuit over the issue.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently denied in part a proposal to increase the compensation for certain appointed attorneys, but details on how the justices voted and why won’t be released until the court issues a final written order.

Assistant State Public Defender Jon Padgham is the go-to man for the State Public Defender's Office when it can't find private attorneys who are willing to take on cases from throughout the northeast quadrant of the state.

The Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office is asking for the establishment of a tuition-reimbursement program for private bar attorneys who take cases for the agency.

Wisconsin’s up-and-coming assistant attorneys general, public defenders and district attorneys won’t be able to make more than $57,688 a year under a new pay-progression plan adopted Tuesday by the state’s Joint Finance Commission.

Attorneys who are appointed to cases by the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office are paid $40 per hour.

A Milwaukee attorney wants a court to overturn his removal from the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s list of lawyers who take private bar case appointments.

Legislators introduced a bill Wednesday to establish a pay progression system for assistant State Public Defenders.

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals can’t brand an attorney a liar without giving the attorney a chance to challenge that label, according to a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision Tuesday.

While interning with the Wisconsin State Public Defender last summer, University of Wisconsin Law School student Pete Middleton decided to apply for one of 30 new staff attorney jobs the agency sought to fill.

While interning with the Wisconsin State Public Defender last summer, University of Wisconsin Law School student Pete Middleton decided to apply for one of 30 new staff attorney jobs the agency sought to fill.

Congratulations to Kelli Thompson on being named the state’s new public defender.

An update of outdated eligibility standards to qualify for a Wisconsin State Public Defender is one step closer to becoming a reality. Gov. Scott Walker’s 2011-13 budget proposal allocates about $10 million to support additional staff attorneys needed to accommodate the change. The money would cover salaries and benefits for 45 new positions, according to the State Public Defender’s office. ...

The Wisconsin State Public Defenders Office doesn’t expect a mass exodus of attorneys and staff if legislation passes that would effectively eliminate collective bargaining rights for government employees. But SPD Chair Daniel M. Berkos acknowledged that some losses are likely as a result of the proposed changes that seek to increase employee contributions to pensions and health care costs. “There ...

One of the longstanding barriers to giving private bar attorneys a raise for taking State Public Defender appointments has been cost.