The Wisconsin Legislature is looking to get treatment courts recognized in state law.
A bill introduced by 3rd District Assemblyman Ron Tusler was passed in the Wisconsin Assembly on party lines.
The Harrison Republican says the courts are diverse and include drug-related conditions, mental health conditions, family dependency treatment, veterans, tribal healing, and more.
On the Assembly floor, he called the courts the best tool to help people who need it.
“But they are an opportunity for a judge to get to know someone and figure out what is it really they need,” he explained. “A lot of times, it isn’t just another year sentence. A lot of times, it’s more like babysitting a little bit.”
The bill would also create a special docket for commercial cases.
This comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ended a seven-year pilot project that established circuit court dockets for large-claim business and commercial cases.
Tusler says allowing business courts to take these cases will make them more efficient.
He explained that commercial cases are not criminal cases.
“We’re talking about complex business-to-business litigation where they’re suing each other, and they want results fast, and they don’t get them,” he stated. “The average length is about three years. These courts, by having them go to an expert, it takes a year and a half. So it’s just faster, it’s more efficient.”
Tusler also said that the cases could be done by judges who want to focus on business.
Democrats say that the bill would give businesses more power over the judicial system.
The Wisconsin Psychological Association also disapproved of the bill, saying they like the idea of creating a mental health court but don’t want it combined with a commercial court since it’s outside their purview.
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the Wisconsin Realtors Association, and Wisconsin FOP support it.
The bill has been read in the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee but has not been voted on.
