Milwaukee County Circuit Court judges working 'diligently' to clear 1,500+ backlogged felony cases in timely manner

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- There are currently almost 1,600 felony cases backlogged in Milwaukee County's criminal justice system, delayed for various reasons.

On Thursday morning during a Public Safety and Health Committee meeting at City Hall, multiple judges on the county's circuit court addressed concerns over the backlog.

"I can't tell you how hard these people are working on a daily, weekly, monthly basis to try and get this backlog addressed," said Chief Judge Mary Triggiano. "We’re still trying to shoot for 2024 and our trend is going down ever so slightly."

Judges expressed the main reasons for the number as the Covid-19 pandemic, staffing shortages, and a lack of available resources. 

"I call it a big ecosystem and if one part of the ecosystem is not healthy, the rest of us feel that impact," Triggiano said. "We make do with what we have but what we have is not enough."

Right now, the criminal division backlog has about 1,570 cases.

According to Triggiano, the misdemeanor court has 31 cases and the criminal traffic courts have a negative backlog compared to three years ago. 

Last year, Governor Tony Evers allocated $16 million from federal ARPA funds to the courts to help reduce the number of cases backlogged in the system.

Since then, the courts have worked to add a fifth homicide sexual assault court, convert a civil branch to a criminal branch, bring in a full-time reserve judge to handle a criminal calendar and more, according to Judge David Feiss. 

But it's not enough for the backlog. 

Despite the funds, the judges said they need more resources if the county wants to see the backlog reduce significantly.

"We want to make sure we provide fairness in the courts, and justice and public safety," Triggiano said. "But if you don't give us the tools and we don't have the tools, we can't accomplish it in a fair and just manner."