Alderman Asks For Citizen Court Monitoring

[Oconomowoc Mom]

Convinced that rarely opposed local judges have almost completely lost touch with community expectations on punishment and sentencing, Ald. Bob Donovan is calling for Milwaukee citizens to join in a citywide Court Watch initiative to get involved in court outcomes by pushing judges for tougher criminal sentencing.

Ald. Donovan, chair of the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee, outlined his call for volunteer citizen court monitors during a news conference today.

Ald. Donovan has long advocated and supported Court Watch efforts for cases in his district and on the city's south side.

"The decent citizens of our community deserve to be protected from these career criminals, but they are being let down by a system that is failing them while letting the crooks off the hook," he said.

"We in Milwaukee County have a weak link in our criminal justice system and it is very clearly our judges and our corrections system," he said.

The alderman said volunteers who would be willing to commit a few hours each month to attend court cases "could clearly make a difference and influence judges' decisions on the severity of the sentences handed down."

Another recent case cited by Ald. Donovan involves a 46-year-old Cudahy man who -- after serving just 16 months for a bank robbery related offense -- committed one bank robbery the day he was released from prison and a second one just days later before being apprehended by police.

"These clowns and thugs are released from prison after serving ridiculously short sentences and start committing crimes almost immediately," Ald. Donovan said.

"If I made decisions that ultimately ended up throwing city services into chaos, I would be tossed out of office," he said. "These judges are routinely throwing our neighborhoods into chaos by releasing dangerous criminals onto our streets before they've been even remotely punished for their crimes. I firmly believe this would not occur if citizens were there, in court, personally holding them accountable and even sharing personal accounts of the harm these criminals have caused or could cause in their neighborhoods."

[Oconomowoc Mom]

We have the exact same problem, in the Waukesha and Dodge county courts.

[HELP]

You need an HONEST JUDGE
There has got to be at least one honest Judge in Wisconsin that is not on the take

[Oconomowoc Mom]

Volunteers across the country are monitoring cases in court. These court watch programs are helping to change the ways judges and prosecutors treat cases.

The volunteers work to create a court-community collaboration, providing a public presence that is able to observe from an impartial perspective, research the individual issues that an overworked court system cannot, propose realistic solutions and advocate for the necessary resources for improvement.

Those involved say court watch programs have changed the way many judges and prosecutors treat cases. The programs also have initiated systematic changes.

[Oconomowoc Mom]

When a local attorney charged with more than 11 felonies for identity theft (and a slew of other charges) can get them ALL dismissed for a plea on a misdemeanor, we need to stop and take a closer look at those making decisions and we need to take a look at the D.A. who brought the charges in the first place.

Nonetheless, someone has to watch out for the rights of the citizens, who end up as victims.

Currently, that is no one.