Wisconsin District Attorneys Association.

W D A A
Wisconsin District Attorneys Association
President
David O’Leary (2014-16)
President-Elect
Jacalyn LaBre (2014-16)
Past Presidents
Adam Gerol (2012-14)
Winn Collins (2010-11)
Ralph Uttke (2008-10)
Tim Baxter (2006-08, 1112)
Scott Horne (2004-06)
David Wambach (2002-04)
Secretary/Treasurer
Tania Bonnett (2014-16)
Board Members
Patrick Kenney (2013-15)
Kurt Klomberg (2014-16)
Melinda Tempelis (2014-16)
Peter Tempelis (2013-15)
Emily Thompson (2014-16)
Brad Schimel (2013-15)
DOJ Representative
Roy Korte
Advisory Members
Laura Radke, DA IT
Therese Schmidt, SPET
Phil Werner, SPO
Executive Director
Micha Schwab
Communications Committee
Emily Thompson, Chair
Jacalyn LaBre
Peter Tempelis
IT Committee
Bob Barrington
Richard Ginkowski
Lanny Glinberg
Lovell Johnson
Jane Kohlwey
James Krueger
Bruce Landgraf
Gary Luhman
Laura Radke
Brenda Ray
Jessica Skemp
Legislative Committee
Brad Schimel, Chair
Melinda Tempelis, Co-Chair
Adam Gerol
Patrick Kenney
David O’Leary
Peter Tempelis
Emily Thompson
– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
District Attorneys throughout the State will gather in Madison,
tomorrow, on January 21st to request the Legislature fix the critically
low prosecutor staffing levels across Wisconsin’s 72 Counties.
Governor Walker in 2010 recognized the twin problems facing DA
offices in retaining experienced prosecutors and adequately staffing
them and he and the legislature committed to first tackling the retention
issue by proposing a pay progression plan for prosecutors who had seen
their pay frozen, their time furloughed and their career advancement put
on hold for far too long. Now it is time the Governor and the
Legislature keep their promise by granting the new Assistant District
Attorney position requests of 71 independently elected DA’s
representing the interests of almost 6 million Wisconsinites. By
adopting the budget requests of these elected District Attorneys,
Governor Walker and the Legislature can help represent Wisconsinite’s
call to increase the fight against organized crime, heroin trafficking,
crimes against children, domestic violence and other crimes that
victimize our neighbors and friends. Victims of crime deserve to be
represented by experienced prosecutors no matter where they live in the
State, and they deserve to have their case prosecuted in a timely manner
– critically low staffing levels are affecting victims and the pursuit of
Justice across the State and we can no longer wait for another budget
cycle to fix a problem that all District Attorneys and Assistant District
Attorneys in Wisconsin agree is at the breaking point.
The creation and funding of this new pay structure has helped reduce
turnover by 1/3. We must now move on to address the staffing
shortages across Wisconsin’s 72 Counties. The January rally has been
in the planning stages for months in the hope that many busy
prosecutors would be able to clear their schedule. The DA’s will be
available to provide information on their budget request and to discuss
the second prong of Governor Walker’s plan to address the long
standing personnel shortage in the DA program. District Attorneys
throughout the state have made requests for additional staff, encouraged
by the Governor’s support for additional positions.
P.O. Box 1702  Madison, WI 53701  www.wisconsindaa.com  [email protected]
07/2014