Attorneys are becoming harder to find, especially in rural areas in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler addressed the issue during the State of the Judiciary Address back in November.
Locally, District Attorney Jacalyn LaBre says for now she is fully staffed, but that could change if someone retires or becomes a judge.
She says the field used to be very competitive when she was applying to become an assistant DA.
“I was competing with 50, 60, people for one job,” she explained. “Now, depending on what county it is, you get a couple of applicants if you’re lucky. Some smaller counties you get none.”
But it’s not only prosecuting attorneys that are hard to find. LaBre says the Criminal Defense BAR is not as big as it used to be, so public defenders’ offices are having an issue as well.
If the Manitowoc County Public Defender’s Office can’t find someone to represent a client because of a conflict of interest, they’ll send the case to someone else, but that’s becoming difficult to do.
“Some people are waiting months and months to get council,” LaBre stated. “Sometimes a year or more. So, it is a problem.”
LeBre says fixing the issue is important to allow prosecutors to do their work while allowing public defenders to preserve the rights of the clients they represent.
