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The Judge Speaks, State Officials Listen;
Mangerson Shares Concerns with Senate Judiciary and Corrections Committee
April 11, 2007
Rhinelander Daily News (WI)
By Michael Skubal
Judges spend a great deal of time listening, and then they get to speak.
Tuesday, however, Oneida County Circuit Court Judge Mark Mangerson got to speak first.
He told the Wisconsin Senate Judiciary and Corrections Committee he was concerned about what he perceives as underfunding for the state Public Defender's office.
Mangerson's main point was that it is the state's responsibility to pay for the public defender program and that it has become an unfunded mandate.
He said due process requires an attorney, and poverty can not keep a defendant from representation.
According to Mangerson, defenders are appointed for all kinds of crimes; burglary, domestic violence, and possession, among others. In the last five years there has been an increase in the use of public defender attorneys. He said there hasn't been an increase in crime, but an increase in the number of those charged who can't afford an attorney.
Sen. Lena Taylor, D - Milwaukee was an active participant, asking Mangerson a number of questions. She was especially interested in alternatives to incarceration. Mangerson said it was important to keep people in the community, that when someone was convicted of a crime, the family suffered.
“When you put someone in jail, the family often loses a wage earner,” Mangerson said. He continued that then you lose the ability to utilize a family therapy approach.
The judge explained the intensive supervision program (ISP) for drunk drivers. After a third offense, and on the advice of counsel, a drunk driver can volunteer to participate in this alternative program, which keeps the offender in the community and with his or her family.
Sen. Mary Lazich. R- New Berlin and committee chairman Taylor asked pointed questions and listened. In return, participants provided sincere and thoughtful answers.
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