Civics: Dane County’s serious crimes often taking over 9 months to prosecute
In Dane County, there is one public defender position open and 40 cases are awaiting representation from the office.
The office’s budget request seeks funding for a tuition reimbursement pilot program to attract attorneys as well as geographic pay incentives to help recruitment in rural areas.
Both prosecutors and public defenders received pay increases in the current state budget, which officials say have helped recruitment and retention. Yet the shortages persist and present potential constitutional rights violations of defendants, Tempelis said.
“You start to see a constitutional level problem that (is) extremely significant, such as people remaining in custody longer than they should or waiting for a defense attorney to be appointed,” she said.
