Public's Interest in Criminal Justice

As I've travelled throughout Sauk County on the campaign trail, many people have asked me about my position on criminal justice, especially as it pertains to drug-related crimes, bail, and incarceration. 

Basis for My Position

My position has been informed by both professional and life experience. The following have been particularly influential:

1. During my campaign, I have met with community leaders including Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister, Sauk County Jail Captain Lewis Lange, and Amanda Hanson who is Sauk County's Justice, Diversion and Support Programs Manager. I have attended government meetings that concern criminal justice, including the Sauk County Human Services Committee, the Sauk County Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee, and the City of Baraboo Police Commission. I have read reports including https://lafollette.wisc.edu/research/sauk-county-adult-treatment-court-and-substance-use-diversion-program-a-cost-benefit-analysis/
2. In law school, I had an internship in which I met with inmates inside Fox Lake Correctional Institution (CI), Green Bay CI, Kettle Moraine CI, Racine CI, Taycheedah CI, Waupun CI, and the Drug Abuse Correctional Center in Oshkosh. 
3. I have extended family members who have suffered from substance abuse, including a young adult who died of an overdose shortly after completing residential treatment, an older adult who has had periods of homelessness and incarceration, and has lived in poverty most of their life, and a young adult for whom residential treatment was successful and who has gone on to marry, have children, and have a good-paying career.

My Position

Drug abuse is a public health issue. People who are struggling with drug abuse deserve our

compassion. However, when they commit a crime that harms someone else, they need to be held accountable.

Bail

As a judge, I will have to decide whether someone who has been arrested and charged with a drug-related crime and is in jail, should be released on bail. If I decide they should be released on bail, I will have to decide whether the bail should be cash or not. If I decide it should be cash, I will have to decide the amount. The decision will not be entirely up to me, as Chapter 969 of the Wisconsin Statutes requires judges to consider certain factors when setting bail. 

Sentencing

As a judge, when someone is convicted of a drug-related crime, I will have to decide what their sentence will be. There are many dispositional options, including Sauk County's Diversion Supervision Agreement Program and Adult Treatment Court Program, but like bail, the decision will not be entirely up to me. There are policies, regulations, and statutes that affect sentencing that a judge must follow. 

How I Will Decide

First, I will be consistent, so that like cases are treated alike. For example, two 2nd OWI defendants whose cases have similar fact patterns, such as being pulled over for weaving while on the way home from a bar, should get the same bail, and if convicted, the same sentence. Secondly, I will also be proportional, so that offenders of more serious crimes are punished more severely than offenders of less serious crimes. Thirdly, I will not discriminate based on age, disability, gender, LGBTQ+, military service, national origin, race, religion, political affiliation, or socioeconomic status. Nor will I permit staff, court officials, and others who are subject to my direction to discriminate.

With respect to drug-related crimes, I see them on a continuum that looks something like this:

1. No harm done & no-one endangered
2. Minor theft &/or property damage 
   
3. Endangerment of a child or vulnerable person 
   
4. Major theft &/or property damage
   
5. Physical harm caused to another 
   
6. Death caused to another

I believe whether someone should be given no cash bail, small cash bail, or large cash bail; and

ankle-monitoring, jail, and/or prison depends on where they fall on this scale.