Lawmaker wants state to require municipal judges to be lawyers
Photo
The Milton Municipal Court in action with Kris Koeffler on the bench.
On a given night in city court, Edgerton Municipal Judge Ronald Strouse sees dozens of offenders accused of speeding, drunken driving and parking violations.
He deals with juveniles accused of truancy and underage drinking and has the power to hand down fines and assign points against a person’s driver’s license. Occasionally, he even notarizes a marriage.
All that, and he’s not even an attorney.
Strouse, a retired Rock County Sheriff’s Office lieutenant, is far from the only non-lawyer working as municipal judge in Wisconsin. About half of the state’s elected municipal judges don’t hold a law degree, according to the Wisconsin Director of State Courts Office.
Other area municipal judges also are not attorneys. For instance, city of Milton Municipal Judge Kristin Koeffler has a master’s degree in counseling, not law. And the Wisconsin Supreme Court lists Orfordville Municipal Judge Terry Miller as an electrical technician, not a lawyer.
Under state law, municipal judges, like other local elected officials, must meet local residency requirements and have a clean criminal background. They also must undergo state training for handling non-criminal legal cases. But there is no state statute requiring that they be licensed attorneys.
One state lawmaker wants to change that.
State Rep. Fred Kessler, D-Milwaukee, introduced a bill last week that would require anyone seeking office for municipal judge to be an attorney licensed through the Wisconsin State Bar Association.
The proposed mandate would go into effect Jan. 1, 2012, and would not affect current judges, officials said.
Kessler, a retired attorney and a former county and circuit court judge, said his proposal would improve the quality of justice in municipal courts because it would ensure that all municipal judges had uniform training and education in law.
“What I want is for people to have a right to a fair trial and for judges to rule based on legitimate evidence,” said Kessler. “I don’t want people who are untrained in what I think are pretty essential guidelines to potentially commit injustices. I think that happens in a lot of municipal courts.”
Kessler didn’t have specific examples of non-lawyer municipal judges trampling on people’s rights, nor did he have statistical evidence showing that people are more likely to be displeased with rulings by municipal judges who aren’t lawyers.
He said it’s hard to quantify that kind of discontent because people tend not to contest petty ordinance fines—mainly out of fear of the potential cost of an appeal.
“Instead, you just grouse about it,” Kessler said.
Common sense
Strouse said he doesn’t believe municipal judges need to have a law degree.
He pointed out that each newly elected municipal judge goes through state training and mentoring programs.
Strouse said he draws from three decades of law enforcement experience.
“I know when an arrest ticket does or doesn’t have every ‘T’ crossed and every ‘I’ dotted,” he said.
Strouse said even if a judge is new to the court system, there are plenty of resources. He said the state Supreme Court gives judges constant updates on laws, and each new judge is paired with a mentor who can act as a lifeline during tough cases.
“It’s about taking your time and using common sense. There are plenty of avenues for that,” Strouse said.
Koeffler argues the state’s elected municipal judges have been doing a fine job.
“If we weren’t, the state would have changed the requirements long ago,” she said.
Complications?
Strouse said he believes rural municipalities would have a hard time finding attorneys who met residency requirements and would agree to work as a municipal judge for the same pay as non-lawyers.
Strouse is paid $4,900 a year, and Koeffler is paid $4,000 a year, according to clerks’ records at the cities of Milton and Edgerton. Both hold two approximately three-hour hearings a month.
Some area municipalities, such as Evansville, already require that their municipal judge be a state-licensed attorney. Thomas Alisankus, Evansville’s municipal judge, earns $10,000 annually, according to city records.
Strouse said he’d worried Kessler’s proposal could lead to small municipal courts folding under financial pressure and having to transfer their caseloads to circuit courts.
Strouse estimates his court sees about 1,000 cases a year. And Milton’s municipal court handles on average at least 70 cases a month, according to Milton Clerk of Courts Kris Klubertanz.
“All of the circuit courts are hollering about how they’re overloaded as it is. If you didn’t have these municipal courts and all these ordinance violations were shipped to a circuit court, the overload would be unbelievable,” Strouse said.
Kessler waved away those concerns, saying that some areas in the state have had consolidated circuit courts for years.
He said rural municipalities could band together and form regional court systems such as Mid-Moraine Municipal Court in West Bend. The court handles non-criminal cases for 16 communities in Washington and Ozaukee counties.
According to Mid-Moraine Clerk of Courts Kathy Buth, the court has one part-time elected judge who under the court’s bylaws must be a state-licensed attorney.
Buth said the judge travels with staff, holding court hearings several times a month in most of the court’s member communities. She said the judge works about 65 hours a month and is paid $74,000 a year.
Overall, the court processes about 20,000 cases a year, and each member municipality pays based on its use of court services, Buth said.
More than a hearing
Koeffler argues her court does more than just process cases. She said hers and other small municipal courts are meant to be accessible and are tailored to fit communities’ needs.
She said she uses her experiences as director of the Rock County Deferred Prosecution Program and as a family counselor to turn a court experience into a lesson, especially for young violators.
In fact, each of Koeffler’s court sessions is structured so juveniles with new charges must sit through adult hearings before their cases are heard.
"It’s a common sense court. You need to know right from wrong." Koeffler said. "They’re arrested, they’re held accountable."
A state law that went into effect Jan. 1 allows municipalities to set four-year terms for municipal judges. The change means that Koeffler and some other newly elected judges will hold their seats until 2015.
She joked about Kessler’s proposed law change.
“I’ve got plenty of time to earn a law degree,” she said.
May 14, 2011 at 6:04 p.m.
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With mechanics and plumbers you get your problem fixed...with prostitutes and lawyer you just get F*****
May 11, 2011 at 2:57 p.m.
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"Lawyers charge for their services by the hour. There's also another group of people that charge for their services by the hour, they're called prostitutes."
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So do mechanics and plumbers. What's your point?
May 11, 2011 at 9:24 a.m.
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I wouldn't hire some plumbers to fix my toilet.
May 11, 2011 at 9:22 a.m.
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Exactly Shrek! Unfortunately, I have observed a lot of educated idiots in my time...
May 11, 2011 at 8:06 a.m.
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I would hire a lumberjack to fix my toilet if he knew what he was doing. A degree or being a journeyman does not ensure good quality.
May 11, 2011 at 3:14 a.m.
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Just because you hava a LAW degree doesn't make you an attorney. My personal feelings would be a MINIMUM requirement of a LAW degree to be a judge. Would you hire a lumberjack to fix your toilet?
Obama not qualified? Why because he wasnt a son of a president? I have a muriad of problems with Obama, I at least feel like we have an intellectual running our nation. A congressional law professor and a Harvard grad, that along with his INEXPERIENCE in the political arena was enough at the time. Unfortunately, he is now experienced and a dirty rotten liar. Still, light years better than dubya. GWB was nothing more than an Alfred E Newmann puppet. His father was a far greater president, just destroyed by the reminants of Reagan's economic poilcies.
May 10, 2011 at 8:42 p.m.
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Lawyers charge for their services by the hour. There's also another group of people that charge for their services by the hour, they're called prostitutes.
May 10, 2011 at 3:20 p.m.
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Yes, what worse then corruption. Let's ask Obama
May 10, 2011 at 1:49 p.m.
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grandys618
You have to let it go, the uninformed and misguided are rambling again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bTbAsmPO...
May 10, 2011 at 1:20 p.m.
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There are no Constitutional requirement for a Supreme Court nominee, but we're want to require municipal judges to have law degrees? We are over legislated with an insane patchwork of do-gooder laws that do nothing but make life difficult for the normal guy. Just a warning, it is incredibly easy to pass laws, and very difficult to repeal them. We don't need lawyers as judges, just people with common sense, something that seems to be in short supply these days.
May 10, 2011 at 12:49 p.m.
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Wow...I never knew municipal judges didn't even need law degrees. Of course, in a state where the Governor is a college drop-out, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Ridiculous. Legal matters decided by people who never went to law school? What a joke.
May 10, 2011 at 12:40 p.m.
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I have had the honor and priviledge to work with Mr. Strouse and Mr. Alisankus. Both operate the same, but under different approaches. I would not say one is any better than the other. It could be that Mr. Alisankus has always been a forward and outside the box thinker when it comes to people. Mr. Strouse is a straight common sense thinker. Both giving each person their fair day in court. They listen to the human side of the incident not just the legal side. As a police officer who can have all your "i's" dotted and "t's" crossed legally. But if you go in front of Ron and Tom, you can explain your side of the incident and they may come up with something that makes both parties happy. I remember Tom sentencing a boy to live in his bathroom like he was in jail, because the family was financial strapped. The parents were thankful and the boy learned from his error. He followed the color of the law not the letter of the law. I feel any other attorney would have simply said guilty and the fine is $xxx.xx. Taking the human side into account, yet serving justice is a special gift.
Now in regards to hiring a straight up attorney for a village, town, or city would be a bust. If they operate in the small areas, they would run across former or current clients causing a conflict of interest. Bringing in an outside attorney takes away from the community aspect of justice. To be judged by your peers, they should understand the local economy, trends, and issues. I don't feel an outside attorney can bring that to the table.
May 10, 2011 at 11:50 a.m.
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Lawyers making rules that require you to be a lawyer to hold a position. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me.
May 10, 2011 at 11:04 a.m.
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kangaroojack To answer your question"What do you call a lawyer at the bottom of the ocean?"
I thought that was water pollution :-)
May 10, 2011 at 10:27 a.m.
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Many attorneys are part time city prosecutors, court commissioners or municipal judges. Rarely does becoming a municipal judge require someone to give up their practice. It makes sense to have a person who decides legal issues have legal education and knowledge. If you want a counselor to decide disputes then have alternative dispute resolutions.
May 10, 2011 at 8:59 a.m.
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OK, so you say only licensed attorneys can be judges at any level? So then where will you get attorneys who will take this amount of pay? Because once they become judges for their locale, they will have to stop their private practice, and not all retired attorneys actually want to work again. So either it will cost the taxpayers more, or the accused will have to wait longer for trial. Oh, yes, he's a Democrat, so it will either cost the taxpayers more or the miscreants will just be allowed to go free with no consequences for their actions.
May 10, 2011 at 8:01 a.m.
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fearandl- Says "No one sees the sense in actually hiring qualified individuals for the jobs they perform?" Oh thats right, look who the President is!" Just goes to show anyone that kisses enough buttocks can get any job, with or without qualifications. See Obama.
May 10, 2011 at 6:43 a.m.
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How many muncipalities could afford to pay an attorney for their services as muncipal judge IF they could find one to run for the position? We have big enough problems finding people to run for county judge let alone to require muncipalities to be an attorney.
May 10, 2011 at 4:06 a.m.
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WRONG this idiot is trying to change something thats pretty much standard throughout the entire country. If he can get some crap like this passed i bet i can get it to where everyone selected for jury duty must be a BAR licensed attorney as well. Lets see how ling that lasts!!!
May 10, 2011 at 12:56 a.m.
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What do you call a lawyer at the bottom of the ocean?
A good start. :)
May 9, 2011 at 11:22 p.m.
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More dumbing down of society. While I am not a huge fan of attorneys, making judges out of folks without law degrees seems counterproductive to me. No one sees the sense in actually hiring qualified individuals for the jobs they perform? Oh thats right, look who the gov is! Just goes to show anyone that kisses enough buttocks can get any job, with or without qualifications. See current governor.
No more common sense anywhere. Next republican bill will allow high school grads to teach elementary school. Same flawed logic. All I read is a bunch of crappy rhetoric, based on NADA. Because you hate attorneys? WOW! That seems like a GREAT reason to hire non-qualified individuals for judgeships. Are you guys kidding? Try if you can to set the rhetoric aside. Tell me how this makes sense?
May 9, 2011 at 10:37 p.m.
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Municiple Judges have been functioning as such for decades. The system is and has been working fine, efficiently, and inexpensively. Kessler is bloviating his ridiculous opinion to a wise majority of citizens's who see through his transparent attempt to exhurt further governmental control over the citizenry. Better keep your mouth shut Kessler or YOU will be the next one looking for a job!
May 9, 2011 at 10:29 p.m.
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Kessler, what a dolt....what more can be said?
May 9, 2011 at 9:30 p.m.
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Some regular people NON-lawyer types in other parts of government would be beneficial. I bet both sides could agree on that.
May 9, 2011 at 8:45 p.m.
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I think the law should include that the Gov should have a degree first and formost.
May 9, 2011 at 8:24 p.m.
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It's so nice to know that Rep. Kessler is in the minority now and that his ideas now have little chance of becoming law, until and if his party can regain the majority and thus restore his influence and power, that is.
May 9, 2011 at 7:21 p.m.
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We should have a law that says NO lawyers can be judges. Lawyers are half the problem with this country. The other half is judges who think they can make law.
May 9, 2011 at 6:23 p.m.
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widemeadow- I would tend to agree with you. An attorney saying only attorneys should be judges kind of smacks of good-old-boy network to me also. Kessler needs to provide some solid evidence these non-attorneys aren't being good judges to back his bill.
May 9, 2011 at 6:22 p.m.
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Agreed! I would prefer a "common sense" judge than one who enjoys picking every single portion of the grievance apart.
May 9, 2011 at 6:03 p.m.
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It has been said before, if it is not broken we will work on it until it is.
May 9, 2011 at 5:26 p.m.
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We have too many attorneys in government now. I say less attorneys and more people with common sense.
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