Wisconsinites to Weigh in on Constitutional Amendments Regarding Cash Bail on April 4th

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023 -- 12:00 PM

(By Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Wisconsinites are weighing amendments to the state Constitution that would expand criteria for setting cash bail.

According to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio, that proposal, which is before voters in the April 4 statewide election, is actually divided into two ballot questions. For the first question, Republican state legislators, who were joined by some Democrats, voted to bring questions 1 and 2 to statewide ballots.

Current language in the state's Constitution lists conditions a judge may consider when deciding to release someone from jail while that person is awaiting trial. Those conditions include ensuring that the defendant appears in court, preventing witness intimidation and preventing "serious bodily harm" to members of the community.

As of now, serious bodily harm is defined "bodily injury which causes or contributes to the death of a human being or which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury." Question 1 would amend language in that section from "serious bodily harm" to just "serious harm."

In a document released by the proposal's Republican sponsors, Sen. Van Wanggaard and Rep. Cindi Duchow, lawmakers argue the bodily harm definition is too narrow, and said the changes would give judges more flexibility to protect public safety.

Under the existing language, the document asserts, "a judge cannot prohibit an accused sex offender of children from going to a playground or a school, because there is unlikely to be an injury with 'substantial risk of death.'"

For question 2, it would beef up the list of factors, as written into Wisconsin's Constitution, that judges can weigh when setting cash bail.  Currently, that section says court officials should consider how likely a defendant is to show up in court.

The new language would add to that criteria by directing judges to consider "the totality of the circumstances," including past convictions for violent crimes.

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