Weekly Fiscal Facts are provided to Wisconsin Newspaper Association members by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. The Wisconsin Policy Forum logo can be downloaded here.
While recent state budgets have increased staffing levels and pay for both assistant district attorneys and public defenders in Wisconsin, their salaries still lag those of attorneys in the private sector. Meanwhile, turnover and workloads for the positions have increased.
Criminal prosecution at the trial court level in Wisconsin is a function of district attorneys (DAs) who are elected at the county level, and aided by assistant district attorneys in larger counties.
Newly hired assistant public defenders and assistant district attorneys (DAs) in Wisconsin currently make $27.24 an hour. That’s an increase of 15% since 2012, during which time inflation has risen more than twice as much. It also follows a decline in take-home pay after the passage of the 2011 Act 10 collective bargaining law.
In 2021, the median pay for Wisconsin lawyers was $55.45 an hour, Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. That’s compared to a median $35.76 an hour for assistant district attorney (ADA) and public defender positions in the same year.
For Wisconsin’s veteran public defenders, earnings lag the nation — even as newer ones earn slightly more than the national average. The average Wisconsin public defender with 11 to 15 years of experience made $85,150 annually in 2021, compared to $101,145 nationally.
Staffing levels for assistant DAs – whose salaries are paid by the state – is also a concern. The Wisconsin District Attorneys Association estimates that based on the average number of cases filed in 2019 through 2021, the state would need 577 full-time equivalent prosecutors to handle the statewide workload. That’s about 103 (22%) more than the authorized level as of September 2022.
Issues recruiting and retaining assistant DAs and public defenders have impacts throughout the justice system. While pandemic case backlogs are starting to subside, individuals with a case in the state system still are now waiting longer for disposition than nearly any other time in recent memory.
Turnover is up overall among public employees as the private sector has greater flexibility to increase wages. In the next two years, Governor Tony Evers’ proposed budget would increase funding for the State Prosecutors Office and Office of State Public Defender by $24.4M and $42.6M, respectively. The monies would be used in part to increase attorney pay rates in both offices.
Challenges for DAs and public defenders are a growing concern for public safety, as well as the constitutional rights of the accused. State legislators may wish to consider these trends in the coming weeks as they set their budget priorities.
This information is a service of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state’s leading resource for nonpartisan state and local government research and civic education. Learn more at wispolicyforum.org.
