The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
By WisPolitics-State Affairs
The efficiency of the state crime lab was an issue in Democrat Josh Kaul’s successful campaign to unseat Attorney General Brad Schimel in 2018.
And it looks like it will be a campaign issue next year as Kaul, running for a third term as AG, is challenged once again by Fond Du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.
A recent DOJ report spurred campaign-style rhetoric on the issue.
The latest DOJ report shows the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory received fewer cases in 2024 than it did the year before, while taking longer on average to process assignments involving DNA and toxicology.
Overall, the 8,965 cases the agency received in 2024 was under the 9,297 received in 2022. By comparison, in 2018, the last full year Schimel was in office, the state labs received 12,680 cases.
Meanwhile, the lab took less time on average to process new assignments involving controlled substances, as well as prints and footwear.
DOJ also reported the number of cases in which evidence tested positive for fentanyl or a fentanyl analog continued to increase dramatically. There were 29 such cases in 2014. That climbed to 765 in 2023 and 1,034 in 2024.
Kaul continued to call for more resources at the lab as the annual report was released. He requested 19 positions for the lab in the 2025-27 budget, and Dem Gov. Tony Evers included six in the proposal he sent to the Legislature. GOP lawmakers, though, didn’t approve any additional spots.
“The failure of the state legislature to include any additional positions for the crime labs in the 2025-27 state budget was a significant disappointment,” Kaul said. “The commitment of our team at the labs to staying on the cutting edge of forensic science is evident, and it’s crucial for the legislature to be a partner to the labs.”
Toney, who lost to Kaul in 2022, joined the attorney general two years ago in calling for lawmakers to put more resources into the lab.
Still, as he announced plans to seek a rematch with Kaul in 2026, Toney knocked the Dem incumbent for the lab processing fewer cases compared to his predecessor, but taking longer to do it in many categories, including DNA.
Toney’s campaign said forensic testing was one of Kaul’s top priorities when he was elected seven years ago, but he’s “proven incapable of improving the crime labs.”
“This is the most significant broken promise of his tenure as Attorney General,” the campaign said.
For more, visit WisPolitics.com
The Capitol Report is written by editorial staff at WisPolitics.com, a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics, and is distributed for publication by members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
Copyright © WisPolitics.com
