The Hon. J. Mac Davis

Chief judge shares what’s new in district

By Jane Pribek

What’s new in Waukesha County? This was the question posed to Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge J. Mac Davis by Wisconsin Law Journal, which published our first edition of the Judges Directory to focus upon Waukesha in 2001.

For starters, Davis has taken on a new role. He now serves as the chief judge in Third Judicial Administrative District. Also, among the obvious changes are his new colleagues on the bench. Judges Paul F. Reilly and Linda Van De Water have ascended to the bench, replacing judges Patrick Snyder and Marianne Becker, respectively. Becker, the county’s first elected female judge, passed away in 2003.

Other changes include a greater emphasis upon security, and the creation of a council charged with looking for big-picture solutions to jail overcrowding.

Safety First

To conduct the face-to-face interviews for the previous edition in summer 2001, this reporter walked into the courthouse and proceeded directly to jurists’ courtrooms or chambers.

While that issue was in production, 9/11 happened. Since then, news reports have told Americans about judicial officers or their families being targets of violent crime, and of armed court staff being overpowered by defendants.

In the 21st century, for better or for worse, security has become a top priority. To that end, the Waukesha County Courthouse is now equipped with a metal detector at the main entrance, as well as an x-ray to scan all purses/briefcases/backpacks/etc.

The screening is a fast process; “It’s never like the airlines,” Davis reassures. It’s a minor inconvenience, for the major benefit of feeling safe and sound.

Another aspect of courthouse safety is to protect persons from those who might do them harm from within.

“When the Waukesha Courthouse was designed in the mid-1950s, there was only one county judge and one shared circuit judge. There were two courtrooms built that had adjacent bullpens to the jail. It was with our explosion of new judges and court commissioners that prisoners in the public halls became the norm the last 35 years,” Davis recounts.

Prisoners using the corridors along with the general public make some people uneasy, but also, it’s a costly proposition in terms of the manpower from the Sheriff’s Department required to escort them.

This was just one concern examined by a consultant hired by the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors, to give the facility a critical eye with regard to whether it will meet the county’s needs in the coming years.

“That prisoner movement study is done, but didn’t offer much in my opinion,” Davis states. “It did not address other issues like future courtroom needs, technology updates, efficiency, etc. Newer courts facilities have been more recently built in Jefferson, Dodge, Walworth, Washington and Ozaukee [Counties]. And it did not offer any effective or practical ideas to get prisoners out of our public halls.”

Among the options, according to Davis, are to build a new courthouse; to remodel the current courthouse; to make no changes; or to do “something else.”

“Something could happen in the next two or three years, or it might not. It’s been simmering for the past five years,” he says.

Stay tuned.

More Tools in the Box

Jail overcrowding has become a concern in Waukesha in recent years. In response, several creative initiatives have been implemented.

In 2002, the Waukesha County Criminal Justice Collaborating Council was created by a local ordinance. Its members are 12 elected officials, including the chief judge, and a citizen representative. The group’s mission is to enhance public safety in Waukesha County through community collaboration by ensuring offender accountability, providing rehabilitation programs and supporting the rights and needs of victims.

Among the projects emanating from the Council is the Alcohol Treatment Court. Efforts to create it began approximately three years ago, largely under the leadership of the former Chief Judge Kathryn W. Foster.

The program is for third-time OWI offenders. After their conviction and sentencing, offenders serve a small portion of their sentences, which are then stayed so that they may obtain treatment and employment.

Offenders are closely monitored: They must participate in Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar program; they are drug tested; and there are frequent court appearances and meetings with a case worker to ensure compliance with all terms of the stay. It can be lifted if they violate the terms. If successfully completed, the balance of the jail term is vacated.

Foster told Wisconsin Law Journal earlier this year (when she was honored as one of the publication’s “Leaders in the Law,” primarily for her work in pioneering this project) that her greatest fear about the program initially was that no one would be interested in being a participant.

The exact opposite has happened, according to Davis, who says there’s a wait list to participate. The program topped out at 62 at one point. The first nine “graduates” were released in June, and another five or six have followed in their footsteps later during the summer.

Michelle Cyrulik, coordinator of the Council, adds that only five persons have left the program. When looking at the national rates of relapse of persons in recovery, that small percentage should be many, many times higher.

Another relatively new sentencing option, for those who were previously candidates for the Huber jail, is the Day Reporting Center. While in the Huber Jail, offenders are released for work during the daytime and return afterward; with Day Reporting, they do not stay in jail but are electronically monitored and meet frequently with staff.

Candidates for the program go through a thorough risk and needs assessment first, says Cyrulik. If they are admitted, they meet twice per week with case workers who might assist them with any problems they encounter with housing, employment, health care or the like. In addition, once a week, they meet with someone from the Sheriff’s Department, who checks the monitoring device. It’s a bit of a “good cop/bad cop” system, she explains, with the case managers looking to build trust and teach more socially-adaptive behaviors, while the Sheriff’s Department’s primary concern is compliance and public safety.

About 20 prisoners are on Day Reporting, one of whom was sent directly into the program.

The program was developed in just a few short months. So far, there have been no problems with the Day Reporting prisoners out in the community. A handful has been removed from the program, notes Cyrulik. But, it’s an extremely strict regime; they were pulled for curfew violations.

Another project that has emerged from the Council is a Transitional Skills Program, offered for prisoners who are nearly the completion of their jail terms and are “frequent fliers,” says Cyrulik. A social worker meets with them regularly before their release dates, to discuss topics such as employment, housing, SSD or SSI if it’s appropriate, health care, and resources within the community to help make their reintegration into the community as smooth as possible, and to keep them from re-offending.

While some grant funding covers the costs of these and other programs, Cyrulik says approximately 75 percent of the Council’s budget comes from property taxes. That speaks highly of the citizens of Waukesha County, she observes. They understand that prevention is the better route to tackle crime, rather than simply building a bigger jail.

What Hasn’t Changed

The Waukesha County courts are well-known for their efficiency.

Davis says he “won’t complain” about the county’s caseload. Waukesha’s 12 judges are very busy but not overburdened. There’s a move afoot to create new judgeships in the state, but not in southeastern Wisconsin. Davis says that most of the Waukesha court calendars are “very current” and trial dates usually can be given fairly quickly.

Another constant: Waukesha County’s leaders — both the Board of Supervisors and the County Executive — are very supportive of their court system.

That’s not to say that they are immune from some of the political pressures of recent years, such as the ideological push to have the state fund 100 percent of the justice system, as advocated by the Wisconsin Counties Association. Yet, Davis explains, “Our county board does ask questions. They have concerns at times, and our court support staff has shrunk slightly over the years. But our county board has not decided to cut off the judiciary’s nose in order to make a point to somebody else. The board has been very supportive and we have enough resources. And, frankly, our courts are serving people primarily from Waukesha County — which I think is the same in most counties. We are serving local people.”

As for the area’s attorneys, Davis says they were, and remain, an extremely professional and collegial bunch. The Waukesha County Bar Association, about 500 members strong, regularly meets for CLE, networking and community service opportunities. On that last note, the bar regularly donates funds to legal services providers and recently created a scholarship fund for law students from the county.

Davis was wearing his “bar president” hat at this point in the conversation. He has since stepped into “past president” mode, to be succeeded by attorney Marjorie Wendt, of Schwei & Wendt S.C. He notes that one of the traditions of the Waukesha Bar is it taps its leaders from the judiciary from time to time, which makes lawyers and judges work together in different capacities and keeps the lines of communication open.