Patty Loew:
We begin with a promise from Wisconsin's governor to do whatever it takes to balance the state's budget. Fixing a projected 5.4 billion dollar shortfall won't come easy. In our continuing series on the economy called “Money Matters,” we take a look at one state program that's already short. Prosecutors in the district attorney's offices across Wisconsin are understaffed by nearly 30%. As Frederica Freyberg reports, that's according to state's own auditors.

Frederica Freyberg:
Dane county assistant attorney Chris Freeman is always on the run struggling 400 domestic violence cases.

Chris Freeman:
I have Covert, which is DD, Bradley will be a waiver.

Chris Freeman:
I feel constantly we're against the gun. I'd be lying if I didn't say you worry if there are things slipping through the cracks. It contains the same charges as the criminal complaint.

Judy Schwamle:
Right now I'm working on a case of identity theft.

Frederica Freyberg:
Deputy DA Judy Schwamle worries about the same thing.

Judy Schwamle:
My nightmare is a case sitting in one of these piles here that I haven't gotten to yet involves an offender who is going to commit some more serious crime.

Elizabeth Hall, clerk:
The middle of October looks like it's the oldest one. Oh, middle of September.

Frederica Freyberg:
Incoming police reports stack up waiting for prosecutors to make charges. Clerks who manage the stacks say they're overrun.

Elizabeth Hall:
It's pile maintenance in addition to file maintenance. A whole new category we've had to develop in the intake office to manage the backlog.

Brian Blanchard:
In Dane county the number of sworn law enforcement has doubled in the last 20 years. We have fewer full-time permanent assistant district attorney positions than we did 20 years ago.

Frederica Freyberg:
One of the people sounding the alarm over the shortage of assistant district attorneys in Wisconsin is Dane County D.A. Brian Blanchard.

Brian Blanchard:
Since the state took over this program in 1990 it has been pretty much neglected. There have not been by and large new positions added to match population growth.

Frederica Freyberg:
Population growth means more people to commit crimes, more police means more arrests. It all adds up to more cases. But not more prosecutors to handle them.

Brian Blanchard:
Victims are competing with each other for our attention. Judges are waiting for us to appear in court because we're in multiple courts at the same time. Police and victims and family victims are waiting for us to charge cases.

Frederica Freyberg:
Right now there are 430 county prosecutors in Wisconsin but nearly every county in the state is hungry for more because, according to the state Department of Administration and the Legislative Audit Bureau about 120 assistant district attorneys are needed statewide to meet caseload demand. Wood County shows the greatest crunch needing more than twice the four prosecutors it currently has. The same holds true in places like Monroe County; Brown County is down seven assistant D.A.s and Dane County needs the most. An additional 11 prosecutors are needed to handle its caseload. Dane currently has 28 assistant D.A.s but they're scrambling.

Suzanne Beaudoin:
There is a great presence of law enforcement on the streets but no one to be able to address the charging decision in the prosecution of the case; it's causing greater injury. And creating further trauma -- this is so, so serious. I can't emphasize it enough.

Frederica Freyberg:
In fact, the victim witness office told us to speak with Brian and Kristin Bott to hear what court delays feel like for victims.

Kristin Bott:
Can you tell me some today this will end?

Frederica Freyberg:
Their infant suffered Shaken Baby Syndrome after their daycare provider abused him. It took two years from the time of the babysitter's arrest until she was sentenced to prison.

Kristin Bott:
It's re-victimizing. Every time you try to prep for one of those hearings, you go back to that initial feeling of what you've been through and in the meantime, in between, you don't heal. You can't heal. You don't even try to start healing.

Frederica Freyberg:
The botts say they had no idea there was a staffing shortage in the D.A.’s office.

Brian Bott:
Never once did we feel like our case was not the most important thing to the people that represented us.

Brian Blanchard:
People do triage. I'm really telling attorneys here, look, you'll have to look at your 10, 20 most serious cases and really keep track of them in every respect and you're going to effectively be doing triage on the balance of them.

Frederica Freyberg:
He says that means only so many minutes per case file. Having prosecutors consider plea deals and dismissals. He calls it “strategies to survive the day” and worries it leads to assembly line justice.

Melanie Hampton:
It gets very disheartening for officers who put many, many hours into this kind of work.

Frederica Freyberg:
Melanie Hampton is a Madison police investigator and member of the Dane County Board. The documented shortage of prosecutors is out of her hands because for nearly 20 years county prosecutors have been funded by state government.

Melanie Hampton:
One of the things that I hope the state legislature takes into consideration is that government does those things that private citizens can't do for themselves. Private citizens can't prosecute their own cases.

Frederica Freyberg:
Governor Jim Doyle's budget will be delivered in February. But will it include more than $10 million for additional state prosecutors?

Brian Blanchard:
We're hoping that he will come through on this issue. It's a front-line public safety issue.

Frederica Freyberg:
But the governor released a statement to us saying the state audit showing the need for more prosecutors does not show a compelling or clear need. In these tough economic times, the state is not filling 3500 jobs that are currently open. Staffing increases are particularly difficult. No staffing increases in District Attorneys’ offices means prosecutors like Chris Freeman.

Chris Freeman:
It is a constant juggling act.

Frederica Freyberg:
Will likely not see caseload relief any time soon.