Celebrating 35 years of advancing freedom in Wisconsin

Viewpoint

How you get faster prosecution: Pay for it

Justice is slow because even tough-on-crime prosecutors aren’t immune to the laws of labor markets.

By Patrick McIlheran

Darrell Brooks Jr.’s trial on six counts of homicide is careening along 10 full months after he was arrested in the Waukesha parade outrage. By the standards of Wisconsin justice, that’s prompt.

It should be another kind of outrage that it now takes, on average, more than 15 months to fully resolve, from arrest to closed case, a homicide charge in Wisconsin. Armed robbery takes a year and sexual assault cases average 14 months. Scholar Jeremiah Mosteller documents these dismal averages in “Toward Swifter Justice,” a study examining the scope and causes of Wisconsin’s court backlogs. It’s part of the Badger Institute’s Mandate for Madison.

Mosteller documents how our courts are getting slower. A felony that took an average of 130 days from charges to sentence in 2003 now takes 241 days, with a sharp turn for the worse after 2018.

And Mosteller documented the reasons. Short version: Prosecutors are overloaded. They’re having a hard time holding on to staff. 

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Mandate for Madison

The Mandate for Madison, a policy blueprint for the 2023 legislative session and beyond, is here! You can access all the Wisconsin-focused research and recommendations on issues including tax reform, education freedom, crime trends, free market health care solutions, road funding and much, much more. 

The Badger Institute pulled together some of the best minds in the state and the country to explore what it will take to make Wisconsin among the best places in America to live, work and do business.

Contributors include Katherine Loughead of the Tax Foundation; Angela Rachidi of the American Enterprise Institute; Sean Kennedy of the Maryland Public Policy Institute; welfare reform pioneer Eloise Anderson; Robert W. Poole Jr. of the Reason Foundation; Jeremiah Mosteller of Americans for Prosperity; Andrew Hanson of the University of Illinois at Chicago; Dan Sem and Scott Niederjohn of Concordia University Wisconsin; longtime Georgia policy analyst Benita Cotton-Orr; James Bohn, former assistant vice president with the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston and; freelance journalist and editor Ken Wysocky. 

Additional chapters were authored by Badger Institute President Mike Nichols, Vice President of Communications and Government Relations Michael Jahr, Policy Director Patrick McIlheran, Education Consultant Jim Bender and Editor Mark Lisheron. 

You can view a PDF of the Mandate here. Click here for a breakdown of the Mandate chapters.

If you would like to order a print copy of the Mandate, you can do so here.

A Site to Behold

For the latest analysis, news, testimony and storytelling on the issues you care about, check out our new and improved website. It’s now even easier to navigate and search for the content you need in order to stay informed.

Annual Dinner

On Tuesday, the Badger Institute celebrated its 35^th anniversary at its Annual Dinner. The keynote speaker was Heritage Foundation founding President Ed Feulner, whose work shaped the policies and priorities of countless presidential administrations and Congresses. Relive the fun (or see what you missed!) with pictures from the reception and event.

Click to view the full gallery of photos from our Annual Dinner.

New Appointments

The Oct. 11 Badger Institute Board of Directors meeting saw changes in the leadership and makeup of the board. Ave Bie, managing partner of the Madison office of Quarles & Brady, became the new board chair, replacing Jon Hammes, who had served on the board since 2010. Lisa Mauer, former owner of three Wisconsin businesses that served the metalworking manufacturing industry, will be the new vice chair, taking over for Jim Nellen, a lawyer in private practice who had served on the board since 2014. Maureen Oster, a female pioneer in the financial investment industry, also retired from the board, having served since 2006. The board also approved the nomination of a new member. Shannon Whitworth is executive director of the Free Enterprise Academy at Milwaukee Lutheran High School and an attorney with over 20 years of litigation and public policy experience.

Ave Bie

Lisa Mauer

Shannon Whitworth

“Ave and Lisa bring a wealth of real-world experience and wisdom to the Badger Institute board leadership,” said President Mike Nichols. “We’re extremely fortunate to have such principled and knowledgeable individuals at the helm. Jon, Jim and Maureen, who served the Badger Institute so faithfully over the years, will be sorely missed. I suspect we will still call on them from time to time for their expertise. And Shannon, who we’ve worked with in different capacities over the years, will add fresh perspectives and free-market insights to our already remarkably accomplished board.”

Quotable

EVENT: Talking Taxes

Badger Institute President Mike Nichols is speaking at the University Club of Milwaukee on Nov. 3 at a breakfast meeting on tax reform. It is open to non-members for a cost of $24.50 + tax/service fee.

RSVP to Joe Coraggio at [email protected] or (414) 271-2222 x 1374.

At a Glance

Free Exchange Podcast

Wisconsin’s transportation funding system running on fumes

Transportation projects in Wisconsin are primarily funded by per-gallon fuel taxes that are declining as fuel economy improves and more drivers opt for electric and hybrid vehicles. Transportation funding gurus Robert W. Poole Jr. and Benita Cotton-Orr, both Badger Institute visiting fellows, join us to discuss how Badger State roads should be funded in the future.

Listen to the podcast

Weekly Survey: Does the backlog in the state’s court system contribute to higher crime rates?

Last Week’s Results

What We’re Reading

• Rep. Mike Gallagher: America’s Military Faces a ‘Window of Maximum Danger’ (Paywall)

• American Spectator: States Are Showing Washington How to Relieve Inflation

• Work Works: The typical homeless person in America might surprise you

• Heritage Foundation: ‘Getting and spending’ wastes parent, student power

Invest in the Badger Institute

The Institute never has, and never will, accept government funding. We gratefully welcome your online donation or email Angela Smith, Vice President of Development.

The Badger Institute is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization funded solely by the generosity of foundations, companies and individuals.