> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://foxwatershed.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# State Courts Ask for Two New Brown County Judges as Study Finds a Shortfall of More Than Five
- URL: https://foxwatershed.com/brown-county-judges-court-budget-request/
- Published: 2026-10-09T08:02:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-15T08:05:17.000Z
- Description: The Wisconsin Supreme Court's 2027-29 budget request adds eight circuit court branches, two in Brown County and one in Shawano-Menominee. A state workload study says Brown County alone needs more than five.
- Author: Fox Watershed Staff
- Tags: Brown County, Wisconsin State Politics, Law & Justice

Brown County would get two new circuit court judges and the Shawano-Menominee circuit would get one under the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 2027-29 budget request, fewer than half of what a state study says Brown County, the county with Wisconsin's largest shortfall, needs.1,2,3 The request, released Oct. 6, asks for about $1.9 million over the biennium to create eight new circuit court branches statewide, four in fiscal year 2028 and four in fiscal year 2029.1 Brown County's would arrive one at a time, one in 2028 and the second in 2029.2

The other five branches would go to Kenosha, La Crosse, Pierce, Trempealeau and Washington counties.1 None of it is funded yet. The Supreme Court sends its request to the governor, who is expected to introduce a full state budget in early 2027, and the Legislature then rewrites and passes it before the budget period starts July 1, 2027.1 Both the governor's office and control of the Legislature are on the Nov. 3 ballot.4

## Two judges against a shortfall of more than five

The request follows a workload study the court system completed this spring with the National Center for State Courts.1,5 Circuit judges and court commissioners recorded all their work time over 20 working days in fall 2025, with 99% of them taking part, and researchers converted those logs into the time each type of case actually takes.5 The result: Wisconsin needs about 379.1 full-time judicial officials and has 348.2, a statewide shortfall of 30.9.5

Brown County, with eight circuit judges and four court commissioners, came out worst.3 FOX 11 reported in May that the study shows the county needs more than five additional judicial officials,6 and Wisconsin Watch put the gap at about six.4 Cases take longer to handle than they did in the state's 2016 study. Since then, the time a misdemeanor OWI case takes rose from 84 minutes to 138, and a divorce from 143 minutes to 193.5 Director of State Courts Audrey Skwierawski said adding branches where the need is greatest would let those courts hear cases "without unnecessary delay."1

## Counties pay for the space and the staff

Circuit judges are state employees, so only the Legislature can create new branches.6 The county still pays for the courtroom, the support staff and the deputies. Brown County officials support adding judges but would have to provide the space and support staff for each new branch, FOX 11 reported.3

Presiding Judge Tammy Jo Hock laid out what that means on Sept. 9, telling the Brown County Public Safety Committee she works her staff through lunch and keeps them late, and asking the committee to back a resolution calling on the state for two more judges.4 That resolution counted 3,755 pending criminal cases in Brown County in 2025.4 Two new branches would cost the county about $222,814 in added support staff and related costs, including two sheriff's deputies, judicial assistants, court coordinators and a one-time setup charge, and the space is already in the county's capital improvement plan, according to Wisconsin Watch.4 Board Chairman Patrick Buckley said he didn't think the county should pay for more prosecutors and asked where cuts would come from.4

Hock also told the committee the judicial branch gets less than 2% of the 2025-27 state budget, citing Legislative Fiscal Bureau figures.4 In June she told NBC 26 she expected the state to fund only two of the judges the study calls for, which would bring Brown County to 10.7 County Executive Troy Streckenbach has said the state's underfunding of the courts costs Brown County taxpayers about $6 million a year.8,9

## Login for a clean experience

Sponsorships, email signups, and most ads are disabled once signed in with a free account.

Subscribe 

Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. 

No Spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

## Lawmakers have dropped this before

Gov. Tony Evers proposed two new Brown County judges in his 2025-27 budget. The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee stripped them out, and the county got seven new assistant district attorney positions instead.9

Republican Rep. David Steffen then introduced Assembly Bill 514, which would have added four circuit judges by 2029, one in Brown County, along with 64.5 assistant district attorney positions statewide.9,10 An amendment added a second Brown County judge and raised the prosecutor count to 68.5.9 The Assembly Judiciary Committee recommended it 8-0 in January.10 FOX 11 reported the full Assembly passed it by voice vote in February, but the Senate never took it up before its last regular floor session in March, so the bill died.6

## Security money and the rest of the request

The request also seeks about $3 million for courthouse security, after circuit judges reported 129 security threats in 2025.1,11 That includes $1.5 million for a Court Security Improvement grant program counties could use for equipment and building upgrades, continued funding for four State Capitol Police officers in the Court Protection Unit, and more staff in the Supreme Court Marshal's Office for courthouse security assessments.1 Chief Justice Jill Karofsky said people who come to a courthouse deserve to be "free from fear of intimidation or harm."1

The request also adds a District III Court of Appeals judge in Wausau, which serves 35 northern counties and had the highest filings per judge of the state's four appellate districts in 2025.1 It seeks 10 more positions for the court system's CCAP technology office, two appellate staff attorneys, a statewide behavioral health coordinator for cases involving mental illness and substance use, and pay raises for judges and court staff.1

---

1. [Wisconsin Court System Files Budget Requests](https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/WICOURTS/2026/10/06/file%5Fattachments/3806964/Wisconsin%20Court%20System%20Files%20Budget%20Requests.pdf?ref=foxwatershed.com)
2. [Wisconsin Supreme Court asks for new judgeships in budget request](https://www.wbay.com/2026/10/07/wisconsin-supreme-court-asks-new-judgeships-budget-request/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
3. [Supreme Court seeks $3M courthouse security fund after 129 threats in 2025](https://fox11online.com/newsletter-daily/supreme-court-seeks-3m-courthouse-security-fund-after-129-threats-in-2025?ref=foxwatershed.com)
4. [Judges warn that underfunded courts are falling behind](https://wisconsinwatch.org/2026/09/wisconsin-justice-system-judges-underfunded-courts-staffing-shortages-rising-caseloads-election-legislature/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
5. [Wisconsin Judicial Needs Assessment](https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/docs/26judicialneedsassessment.pdf?ref=foxwatershed.com)
6. [Brown County needs 5 more judges, Wisconsin Supreme Court workload study says](https://fox11online.com/news/local/brown-county-needs-5-more-judges-wisconsin-supreme-court-workload-study-says-jill-karofsky-report-legislature-assembly-senate-bill-justice-budget?ref=foxwatershed.com)
7. [Brown County presiding judge says judicial shortage is delaying cases](https://www.nbc26.com/greenbay/brown-county-presiding-judge-says-judicial-shortage-is-delaying-cases?ref=foxwatershed.com)
8. [Brown County officials announce efforts for court expansions](https://www.wbay.com/2025/05/27/brown-county-officials-announce-efforts-court-expansions?ref=foxwatershed.com)
9. [Amended Assembly bill addresses Brown County court funding](https://www.wbay.com/2026/01/05/amended-assembly-bill-addresses-brown-county-court-funding/?ref=foxwatershed.com)
10. [2025 Assembly Bill 514](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/proposals/ab514?ref=foxwatershed.com)
11. [Wisconsin Supreme Court: Court security, new judgeships lead Wisconsin Court System's 2027-29 budget request](https://www.wispolitics.com/2026/wisconsin-supreme-court-court-security-new-judgeships-lead-wisconsin-court-systems-2027-29-budget-request/?ref=foxwatershed.com)