Brown County Courthouse (Image: Courtesy of Brown County Clerk of Courts)
BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Brown County currently has eight judges and four court commissioners, but a new judicial workload study from the Wisconsin Supreme Court says that isn’t enough.
According to the report, Brown County needs a combination of five more judges and/or court commissioners.
“In Brown County, we do have a need for additional resources. Our criminal justice system has been understaffed in all areas,” said Judge Tammy Jo Hock, presiding judge for Brown County.
The report said circuit courts statewide have a need for about 30 additional judges and court commissioners.
Whether or not Brown County will get the additional staffing is up to the state.
“Whether they needed the 2015 report or this 2026 report to show that we need judges, it only solidified our need. We’re really hoping that the next Legislature and the governor are willing to take this on,” said Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever get five additional judges. My hope is that we’ll get two, at least, to help with our issues and our backlog,” said Hock.
Streckenbach said Brown County has a backlog of 2,800 felony cases, with 500 people that have sat in jail for over two years at the expense of local taxpayers. He said that bill comes out to $6 million — and he blames the state for that cost.
“The state of Wisconsin does not want to take responsibility of funding its court system,” said Streckenbach.
Something the county can control, however, is the lack of space for additional judges.
“Right now, we’re at capacity in the Brown County Courthouse. We don’t even have a place for jurors to really report, so we do have a need for greater space. What that actually looks like — that’s going to be up to the County Board,” said Hock.
“At the end of the day, we know and we recognize that we need to address that. It’s in our [capital improvement plan], it’s been in our CIP. The board has approved the CIP to aid for that additional expansion for the courtroom,” said Streckenbach.
A bill in 2025 would have brought two additional judges to Brown County. The measure passed in the Assembly, but State Senate leadership chose not to bring the bill to a final vote.
Comments