What Can a New District Attorney Do for You?
I can lead us towards a government that uses resources well and implements solutions to process criminal cases quickly.
My promise to the people of both Shawano County and Menominee County is that I will improve the way things are done so that the District Attorney's Office gets justice in every case. The DA is crucial for ensuring timely justice, and I will make justice come faster here. In 2022, felony cases in Shawano County took about eighteen months to resolve while other similar neighboring counties take less than nine months. This is a matter of public safety. Defendants remain on bond on high-level felony cases while victims wait for closure. Officers frequently come to court for hearings that resolve at the last second because decisions are made last-second. I will fix this while saving the taxpayer money.
I believe our community has excellent police officers, dedicated staff in the District Attorney's Office, helpful people in the Clerk of Courts office, and fair judges. I have worked closely with them as a former Assistant DA for Shawano and Menominee Counties. This campaign is important and personal to me because I have seen cases where a lot of hard police work didn't pay off as expected. Night-shift officers are testifying at odd hours in cases that could be resolved without any testimony at all. I aim to improve the working conditions for officers and court personnel, ensuring that their hard work leads to meaningful outcomes. I will provide everyone with prompt justice.
Finally, we have technology in our office that has existed since 1996, called PROTECT, that is provided to the office at no charge. I will make use of it. We can go paperless and save our county so much time and money by making easy adjustments to prioritize use of this free resource. I will modernize the office by incorporating extremely beneficial technology that will allow prosecutors to focus on their cases and not their pencils.
Goals
Resolve routine cases routinely.
The ordinary misdemeanor case in Shawano County is 328 days old when it settles. For Menominee County, it is 420 days. In Waupaca and Oconto Counties, the median age is 185 days and 159 days, respectively. Where I currently prosecute, the median resolution time is 123 days. I know how to resolve routine cases with favorable results. Shawano County and Menominee County can set examples and do even better, but we need a DA who knows what improvements to make.
Keep our money in the county.
For crimes, most generated revenue from fines goes to the state. For ordinance convictions, the money goes to the county. I am open to amending some crimes to ordinances in limited circumstances, particularly if a victim wants that outcome or a defendant works to earn it. Being mildly creative with plea deals can streamline operations and support victims. We can get better outcomes and keep the county’s investment in that endeavor local. I can do better to make victims whole, validate the hard work of law enforcement, and leave the community better off.
Implement a strong diversion program.
There are many known benefits to having diversion program. It is more effective in ensuring that victims get restitution, and it gives a DA’s office leverage to encourage defendants to take action and be accountable. Diversion programs allows prosecutors to impose strong consequences when defendants are misbehaving and is the most effective way to modify human behavior when used properly. Diversion agreements allow prosecutors to streamline cases and take more control over them, making it easier for them to hold unruly defendants accountable.
Hold regular legal clinics for law enforcement.
Our officers in our community are extremely capable, and they want to better themselves at their craft every day. They do not need to do it without proper guidance from the DA’s Office. When I see or hear something from an officer that appears to be a teachable moment, it is a necessary part of my job to educate. It is part of being a lawyer. I will counsel officers on significant, impactful higher court decisions immediately. I also promise to recap changes in the law in a way so that officers have not just the legal information, but the know-how to put what they learn into practice.
Utilize software that has been available to the office since the 90s.
I want to get away from using written case notes and paper calendars when our judges use digital court scheduling software that syncs up with prosecutor calendars. I look forward to answering the call of a county board that is demanding we go paperless to help the county’s budget. We need start using the free technology available to us. I can drastically improve the office by making easy technological changes.
There is no need to have paper files any more. The statewide e-filing system is mandatory for most types of cases that a district attorney’s office handles, so paper is not the preferred “stationary” for a DA’s Office to run on in the 21st century. It costs the county money when we print paper copies of documents that need to be e-filed anyway.
In sum, I do not think rigidly. Tried and true methods and keeping with tradition makes for a great foundation. But we cannot refuse to adapt when the circumstances call for it. I make no excuses. I adapt, and I will do everything required and then some to make this DA’s Office the exemplar office in Wisconsin.