BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Short-term help is on the way for Green Bay’s public defender office, but the Brown County Board of Supervisors agrees the issue is a crisis and more needs to be done.
As FOX 11 has reported, the office has been running short handed. It’s resulted in defendants staying in jail longer, which costs county taxpayers.
There’s also concern cases could be tossed because of the length of time taken to find attorneys.
A recent count showed 17 defendants were in the Brown County Jail more than 100 days, waiting for an attorney to be assigned to their case.
State Public Defender Kelli Thompson told FOX 11, as of last week, the Green Bay office had about 240 cases that needed outside attorneys assigned. Two weeks ago, county officials reported that number was about 350.
The Green Bay office covers Brown, Door, and Kewaunee Counties.
FOX 11 asked Thompson how the Green Bay office’s backlog compares to other offices in the state.
“It’s higher. That number is high, very high for us. It’s an area of concern, a significant concern, so everyone is kind of trying to be creative as possible to find individuals to take those cases.”
Thompson says a variety of factors are to blame for a shortage statewide including the pandemic and pay. Specifically, for the Green Bay office, a spike in cases, three vacant public defender positions, and a lack of outside attorneys in the area are also issues.
“We’ve worked with the state bar and the law schools, people hopefully are realizing not everything happens in kind of our big urban areas. If you can get out to certain areas of the state, not only is it a wonderful place to live, you can make a really, really good living and you can make a real big difference.”
Brown County officials say the state office has agreed to send three limited-term employees to Green Bay to help out. While that should help short-term, the county board passed a resolution Wednesday night asking state lawmakers for long-term solutions.
“When you look at what pay is for legal professionals across the state, what we’re paying for public defenders is low,” said Keith Deneys, a Brown County Supervisor, who chairs the county’s public safety committee.
Supervisors hope the state looks at that in the upcoming two-year budget. They’d also like to see regional public defender offices created so problems like the current shortage can be addressed more quickly.
The state public defender’s office pays outside attorneys $70 an hour, which is set by state statute. The rate was raised in the last state budget from $40 an hour, which, according to Thompson, was the lowest rate in the country.
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