Brown County Courthouse (Image: Courtesy of Brown County Clerk of Courts)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — A budget motion to address a severe backlog of felony cases in Brown County is receiving bipartisan support.
Local county and court officials presented their motion Tuesday that would provide state funding for the Brown County Circuit Courts operations and expansion.
The proposal asks for two new judges, three assistant DA’s, two court reporters and two additional support staff for the Green Bay public defenders office, moving the system from eight circuit court branches to 10.
To support their plan, lawmakers expressed the need through statistics, stating there is only one judge for every 34,000 people in the county.
In Brown County, pending felony cases are up 220% over the last decade with over 500 cases involving individuals who have been waiting in jail for two years to get their day in court.
“The pending cases that are two years older or more is up 6,300 over the last decade which is more than Milwaukee and Dane counties combined,” said State Rep. Ben Franklin.
Keeping these individuals in the jail longer costs Brown County taxpayers more and makes the need even greater to expand the jail system.
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