New event this F, Sa, Su – 7 professional “ribbers” with various entertainment bands will be on hand at the Fair Grounds from 11 – 11 on F & Sa,  and 11- 7 on Sunday

No admission – just pay for food.  Need volunteers for shifts on Saturday and Sunday afternoon to help with this fundraiser.

 

 Walk, paddle, canoe, kayak… it’s a Poker Run on Lake Geneva – Sunday August 7^th   from 7 – 11 a.m. and costs $35 to register and they are looking for sponsors.  The even starts in Williams Bay – stopping at 7 different piers – participants collect cards and win prizes. 

 

August 14^th flea market parking – will need volunteers, mark your calendars

 

 

Q/A Forum open to Rotarians, Press, Members of the Bar with our District Attorney Candidates ready to field questions including:

 

Zeke Wiedenfeld a Walworth County resident, a past Assistant District Attorney for Walworth Co, and presently a Walworth County Court Commissioner.   

 

Rich Sullivan – 14 year resident of Walworth County, past defense attorney, and presently a Rock County prosecutor for last 19 years.

 

 

 

Wiedenfeld – Agreed that there has been turnover in recent years for a number of reasons.  To retain attorneys we need to develop a team approach involving more collaboration regarding cases and problem solving.  Give attorneys more ownership in their cases through empowerment.

 

Sullivan – Noted he has 19 years experience to help mentor and work together to build reporte.  There has been little turn over in his present office.  Pay progression aspect is a problem with attracting and keeping Assist. District Attorneys and staff.

As a Member of Wisconsin District Attorneys association he can advocate for change and believes he could cultivate through experience and contacts to find individuals who want to make this their career.   Wants to create a “We” situation for all staff – by building unity with support staff and attorneys.  Key – experience

 

 

Wiedenfeld – By treating troubled citizens, we can make a difference. The Walworth County OWI court is an example of this based on data from programs people have completed. It is also critical have to system where there is accountability – and offenders are punished – with treatment also available for them.

 

Sullivan – It is hard to say what works in every situation.  The question to pose is, “What can I do to make sure this never happens again?”   When we are talking about the heroine epidemic, for example, we have good people being impacted.  We need to make sure we do cost effective and meaningful treatment.  What is evidence based practices – what is going to work?  An example would be the Drug Course graduation program –if you give people an opportunity they may succeed rather than end up in jail.  We also need to bring a domestic violence intervention program to Walworth County to give people skills to reunite as a family to reduce the number of repeat offenders.

 

 

 

Sullivan – We need a three fold attack.  First we need to address the “pill” issue (programming to collect pills for example at police stations reduces prescription pills available).  People move from pills to heroine.  Narcan is now a product that people carry / use to prevent heroine death.  However, is it masking the problem more? Next, we need education brought back. Third, we have to let people know the police are focused on this issue and get people (users) in the system to help them.

 

Wiedenfeld –Concurred that pills are the gateway.  Problem is doctors are becoming pill distributors.  Legislature should oversee the number of prescriptions given.  When those get addicted, enrollment in drug court and treatment court is important.  We need to crack down on dealers and I have prosecuted drug dealers in the past to get them off our street.  Heroine is a problem we are reigning in – and now feels that Meth may be the future problem in this area.

 

 

 

Wiedenfeld – Requests have gone forward to increase the number of attorneys by at least one, possibly looking at the county hiring another attorney, rather than the state.  However, caseloads have gone down with a reduction of charging.  IF charges were to increase, then we would need to look to the state to increase the attorney staffing. With a reduction in staff, there is a limit on the time that can be spent advocating in Madison.

 

Sullivan:  We need more bodies.  The state runs numbers every year of the caseloads– and determines how many attorneys are needed per county.  You need to look at other opportunities such as “county positions”.  First, you need to lobby for the pay progression so the resources / individuals will stay.  You need to have people both in the courts and available to meet with individuals in Madison.

 

 

Wiedenfeld – This is something recently not done in the DA’s office – deferred prosecution is when the DA does not charge anything – but may wait a year to see if there will be charges brought.  If a year later individuals do not comply, you prosecute.  The reason it is not widely done in Walworth County presently is it can be challenging to look at these situations a year later if it goes to a deferred prosecution.

 

Sullivan:  Stated “I have the opposite belief.”  A Deferred Prosecution program has worked in Rock Co.  Here, an individual enters into a program and may be deemed a candidate for deferred prosecution if they successfully complete the program (those who mainly committed misdemeanors and some felonies) Deferred prosecution programs work across the state – situations might include an 18 year old involved in a theft, fight at school or a bar. This action saves money and time, and is better for people who then are not convicted of a crime.  Judgment does not get entered until that person completes probation and then comes back into court for the charges to be dismissed.   This keeps people working and functioning members of society.

 

 

Wiedenfeld – An ADA should be passionate about their cases.  At times I might disagree with the decision of filing charges.  IF that were the case, I would reassign the case to myself.  Prosecutors must believe in the cases they handle.

 

Sullivan:  In effect, every case is the DA’s case.  So it is never a matter of taking cases away.  We are a team and cannot have “cancer” on the team with regards to how we interact with each other.  Must find a way to work together to reach consensus.

 

 

 

Sullivan:  There are great resources here in Walworth County including the Tree House organization.  The question that must be answered is, “Did the abuse happen?” The Tree House Organization provides a safe place for children to share experiences… must make sure that there is a case that can be charged.  DA office – deals with a variety of juvenile crime.  We need to be creative with truancy – by getting all of the people at the table including DA’s office, police, schools… need to understand from a police perspective to identify the issue to get them back in school.

 

Wiedenfeld – The most important cases handled are those involving children.  Early intervention is critical.  In terms of Child Abuse, with the Tree House program is critical and then we follow through with all interviews.  While a case may not progress immediately, we continue to look for patterns in certain situations.  Truancy is prosecuted not by DA office, but another system.  Personal thoughts are that it should be the parents that are held accountable, not the child.