State of Wisconsin Looking to Counter Backlog of Criminal Cases by Hiring More Judges, Prosecutors, etc.

Wednesday, March 4th, 2026 -- 10:01 AM

(Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) Lawmakers are trying to counter a backlog of criminal cases by allowing the state to hire more than 100 more people, including judges, prosecutors and public defenders, to work in courts across Wisconsin.

According to Sarah Lehr with the Wisconsin Public Radio, that proposal is awaiting approval by Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Senate, after clearing the GOP-led Assembly in February.

The bill would allocate a total of 18 assistant public defenders, as well as 35 public defender support staff during the 2027 and 2028 budget years. It also specifies that nearly 69 assistant district attorneys would be added statewide during the next two-year budget cycle.

Additionally, the bill would add several more circuit court judges statewide, and assign those judges to Brown, Kenosha, Menominee and Shawano counties. Rep. David Steffen, R-Howard, said he authored the bill after learning about long waits within Wisconsin’s criminal justice system.

“That means the accused aren’t having their day in court,” Steffen said on the Assembly floor. “The Constitution guarantees that every person shall be provided a speedy trial. We have been denying that to people throughout this state.”

Last year, it took nearly eight months on average for a felony case to work its way through Wisconsin’s state courts. Justice has been getting somewhat speedier in recent years, although, on average, Wisconsin’s criminal cases are still taking longer to resolve compared to before the pandemic.

The bill’s language does not include a specific price tag, although it directs state officials to request funding for the new positions in the next budget cycle. The additional public defender office’s positions could eventually cost about $5.6 million a year, according to a fiscal estimate from the State Public Defender’s office.

Wisconsin’s Department of Administration listed the expected cost of bringing on additional prosecutors as “indeterminate,” in an estimate submitted by that department.

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