Candidate for Treasurer
Chuck Stertz
Assistant District Attorney, Outagamie County, Appleton
Email:
chuck.stertz@da.wi.gov
Platform Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the office of State Bar treasurer. I am proud of the State Bar, its members, and its many programs. Every day the Bar works to increase access to justice, promote a high-functioning justice system, ensure a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and improve the competitive advantage for Wisconsin lawyers. These strategic goals are not simply aspirational, every part of the Bar, from its staff to its divisions, sections, and committees, work very hard to advance these goals.
Each of these programs, however, come with a financial cost. The Bar needs to continuously strive to keep costs in mind when starting new programs and while running existing programs. While serving as chair of the Criminal Law Section, the section board reduced the section dues and maintained a net-positive budget without cutting existing programming. During my year as section chair, the section board on my motion created a committee that State Bar eventually transformed into the "Disparate and Mass Incarceration Working Group."
Having served as the chair of the State Bar Board of Governors, chair of the Criminal Law Section, the president of the Young Lawyers Division, and six years on the Board of Governors, I bring a unique understanding of the Bar's many functions, programs, and interests. As treasurer, I will use that knowledge to help ensure each State Bar committee, section, and division advance the Bar's missions while respecting the dues and financial realities of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Biography
I live within walking distance of the courthouse in downtown Appleton with my wife and two young daughters. I am an assistant district attorney for Outagamie County, with a caseload primarily focused on the youthful offender diversion program, providing the opportunity to prosecute a wide-variety of criminal activity with an eye on finding resolutions outside the criminal courts that make victims whole and rehabilitate the youthful offender. I represent my office on the county's evidence-based decision making (EBDM) committee, as well as the county's coordinating council. These groups are made up of representatives from service providers, probation agencies, defense counsel, judges, victims, community members, and prosecutors. Their goal is to find creative ways to improve the justice system so as to decrease recidivism and improve the criminal justice for all involved including victims, witnesses and defendants.
My volunteer service with the State Bar includes leadership roles with the Young Lawyers Division, the Criminal Law Section, and various committees including: the Executive Committee, Strategic Planning Committee, Public Education Committee, and Legislative Oversight Committee. Additionally, I served on the Executive Director Search Committee and the Disparate and Mass Incarceration Committee. I am also proud to have represented the State Bar as a delegate to the ABA House of Delegates, and to be an elected member of the council of the ABA Criminal Justice Division.
