GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Legislators in Brown County are asking for more state funding as they say they need help with staffing shortages amid thousands of pending felony cases.
State representatives Shae Sortwell (R-Gibson) and Ben Franklin (R-De Pere) have reportedly filed a budget motion to the Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee with the hopes of expanding operations for the Brown County courts.
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There appears to be bipartisan support to bring two judges, three assistant district attorneys, and two state public defender support staff positions onboard.
By bringing in the additional staff, state lawmakers hope it can alleviate the backlog, which they say is longer than both Milwaukee and Dane Counties combined.
What I can tell you is I think everybody is very excited about this. Again its a much needed injection from the state and so everybody that I’ve talked to so far is very supportive about it, there’s an obvious need there so everybodys excited.
State Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-De Pere)
As of now, the current median age of a criminal case in Brown County is nearly 300 days.
