(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court is asking for $3 million in additional funding for courthouse security in the next state budget cycle, pointing to 129 recorded security threats in 2025.
The funding proposal includes $1.5 million for Court Security Improvement grants available to the state’s 72 counties to purchase security equipment and improve the security of facilities.
The funding would also pay for four statewide positions in the Wisconsin State Capitol Police Court Protection Unit to evaluate and respond to security threats in the state’s courts along with completing security assessments of courthouses.
“Courthouses must be safe for the people who come to seeking justice, serve as jurors, and do the work of the courts,” Chief Justice Jill J. Karofsky said in a statement. “Every single person who walks into a courthouse deserves to be free from fear of intimidation or harm. Counties cannot address every security need alone. Our proposal would add state support where it can make a practical difference.”
The funding proposal would also pay for eight new circuit court branches and a District III Court of Appeals judgeship.
The new courts would cost $1.9 million over the two year budget year to add four court branches in fiscal year 2028 and four in fiscal 2029.
The new courts include two branches in Brown County and one each in Kenosha, La Crosse, Pierce, Trempealeau and Washington counties, plus one in the Shawano/Menominee circuit.
The proposal comes after a Wisconsin Judicial Needs Assessment Study in 2025.
“The study measured the time judges need to review evidence, conduct hearings, and make decisions,” Director of State Courts Audrey K. Skwierawski said in a statement. “Adding branches in counties with the greatest need would give those courts more capacity to hear cases without unnecessary delay.”