The Third Branch
People
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Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson |
Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and her Executive Assistant Theresa Owens collaborated on an article about the criminal justice system that was published in the Winter 2012 edition of Wisconsin People & Ideas, a magazine of the Wisconsin Academy of Arts and Letters.
"Making the Criminal Justice System ‘Visible'" explores Wisconsin's criminal justice system and the approach justice system partners are taking together to improve it – effective justice strategies.
Abrahamson explains that judges across the state are joining with justice system partners, including county officials, prosecutors, public defenders, treatment professionals and others, to develop collaborative programs that protect public safety, reduce recidivism and ease costs of incarceration. Examples of approaches taken in some counties include bail-monitoring programs and drug and alcohol treatment courts, among others.
The article also outlined a National Center for State Courts study of effective justice strategies in Wisconsin that provides an overview the AIM Pilot Project, problem-solving courts and county criminal justice collaborating councils.
"The number of effective justice strategies in process and the level of collaboration demonstrated in so many communities in Wisconsin are a testament to our commitment to make systemic changes and develop a statewide strategy for building evidence-based practices and problem-solving strategies and for measuring outcomes," the article concludes in part.
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Judge Ralph M. Ramirez |
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Chief Judge J. Mac Davis, Waukesha County Circuit Court, poses on the deck of the USS John C. Stennis while visiting his son, naval pilot Lt. Carl Davis during a family visit week. |
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Lt. Carl Davis, wearing his flight gear, was able to show his father, Chief Judge J. Mac Davis, Waukesha County Circuit Court, what life aboard an aircraft carrier is like firsthand. |
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| Judge Kitty K. Brennan, District I Court of Appeals, hosted the TEMPO Mentor Awards in February. |
Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Ralph M. Ramirez was the focus of the Wisconsin Law Journal's January "Asked and Answered" segment. Ramirez, who chairs the Committee to Improve Interpreting in the Wisconsin Courts, told the Law Journal that he would like to develop a CLE course that focuses on equal access to the courts and using certified interpreters to address language barrier issues. According to the article, his favorite legal movie is My Cousin Vinny. "We all need a good laugh," he's quoted as saying. "And don't forget that the lawyers shook hands at the end of the case." Ramirez told the Law Journal he considers his family to be his greatest achievement, and his motto, "Seek perfection of character; be faithful; endeavor; respect others; refrain from violent behavior," stems from his training in Shotokan karate.
Thanks to his son, Chief Judge J. Mac Davis, Waukesha County Circuit Court, had the opportunity to experience something few civilians have, the Waukesha Freeman reported. Davis spent a week aboard the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean while visiting his son, Lt. Carl Davis, this February. The senior Davis took part in a "Tiger Cruise," a Family Week that allows family members of active service members to have a first-hand experience of what active-duty life is like.
"It was interesting. Different than a pleasure ship. Busy. Crowded," the judge told the Freeman. "I think I had a fairly good conceptual idea of what he does and what the Navy does and the importance of that. But the hands-on and seeing the relatively crowded conditions they live in and yet they are effective. Almost 6,000 people, and equipment, and 80 warplanes on the ship and they're effective."
The younger Davis is a VAW-112 Golden Hawks Air Wing pilot who flies a Hawkeye E-2 radar plane. He has spent the past seven months on duty in the Arabian Sea. His father was able to join the ship as it made the last leg of its return home.
The visit, and meeting the men and women who serve with his son, gave the father some peace of mind.
"Somebody has to do it and I don't know anyone who can do it better than my son," Davis told the Freeman. "I am proud of him. I am not worried about him."
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Judge Charles B. Schudson |
Former Judge Charles B. Schudson's presentation to the National Association for Court Management at their summer conference was highlighted in its publication, Court Manager. Schudson spoke about emotional intelligence in the courtroom, and the question of whether judges can perform their administrative duties without any bias, as their code of conduct requires.
According to Schudson's talk, as humans we are all unconsciously incorporating learned prejudices into our social interactions. Schudson argued that if judges are aware of this, it can be addressed through emotional intelligence and benefit courtroom interactions.
Judge Kitty K. Brennan, District I Court of Appeals, hosted the 22nd Annual TEMPO Mentor Awards at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee Feb. 16.
In Brennan's introduction, the nearly 500 attendees also heard a description of the Milwaukee Circuit Court system that she presided over as Chief Judge before moving to the Court of Appeals. "Professionally, I've been able to expose the importance of our courts to the Milwaukee community," Brennan said in the TEMPO brochure. She was a recipient of the award in 2006 and is a board member of the organization.
Winners of the recent awards were: Earnestine Willis, M.D., Medical College of Wisconsin; Lisa Froemming, Columbia-St. Mary's; and Deloitte.
TEMPO is an organization of influential women in the Milwaukee community. It established the Mentor Awards in 1990 to acknowledge the value of mentoring as well as the power of education. Each award winner designates an accredited institution to which a donation of $5,000 is given in their name.
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Judge Fred W. Kawalski |
Langlade County Circuit Court Judge Fred W. Kawalski plans to use technology to help curb truancy, but not in the way one might think, according to the Antigo Daily Journal. Teenage offenders now face losing their cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices for up to 60 days if the court finds them to be habitual truants, thanks to a new amendment to Antigo's city ordinances. The city is hoping the new punishment will act as a deterrent for teens whom officials are having harder time reaching, the Journal reports.
"We do have an issue with certain kids and we are trying to reach them in a way they will understand," Antigo City Attorney Mike Winter told the Journal.
In January, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the Waukesha County alcohol treatment court's numbers since its inception in 2006. According to the report, 280 offenders have participated in the program. The program has had 164 graduates, seven of whom have reoffended. Seventeen participants have voluntarily left the program, and 20 were removed by the program staff. Participants in the program are offered reduced sentences if they agree to treatment, monitoring and supervision.
These numbers come in as the county is planning a new drug treatment court. The Journal Sentinel reports that the county has received a three-year, $350,000 federal grant to fund the new court, which is anticipated to start running this year.
"We expect there will be a dramatic reduction in jail and prison days," Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel told the Journal Sentinel.
Conflict over nativity scenes in the Capitol during December led the Wisconsin State Journal's Odd Wisconsin to revisit an old separation of church and state case decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On March 18, 1890, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of a group of Catholic parents who objected to an Edgerton school's reading from the King James Bible in the school. According to the State Journal, the U.S. Supreme Court cited that case when ruling against prayer in public schools in 1963.
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Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Jason A. Rossell receives a gavel from his son, Cameron, and daughter, Alaina, at his swearing in ceremony. Photo credit: Kenosha News/Brian Passino |
It wasn't newly appointed Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Jason A. Rossell who was in the spotlight at his swearing-in ceremony this past December, according to the Kenosha News. All eyes were on his two-and-a-half-year-old son, Cameron, but that may be because he was standing on a chair.
"Cameron, a day like today is a special day," the Kenosha News reports Chief Judge Mary K. Wagner saying. "And when you're that short, you get to stand on a chair. Get up there and take a look at the audience."
Cameron even got to play an important role in the ceremony, conducted by Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Gableman, when he and his older sister, Alaina, presented their father with his gavel.
"This is the greatest job in the world," said Rossell, according to the Kenosha News. "It is an amazing honor."
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