Feb. 5, 2025 – Your State Bar representatives on the Wisconsin Judicial Council ask for your help to secure proper funding for the Council’s important work to improve Wisconsin’s rules of court practice and procedure.

Wis. Stat. section 758.13 directs the Judicial Council to observe, study, and recommend improvements to the rules of pleading, practice and procedure in the state courts; keep advised of court decisions relating to practice and procedure and pending legislation regarding the courts; and recommend to the Legislature and Supreme Court changes to improve court organization, operation and efficiency. No other state agency is charged with this work.

The rules of procedure and evidence govern the operation of all Wisconsin courts and the delivery of justice for businesses, individuals, and government. These rules make the courts run.

Judicial Council committees are currently working on several projects, including revisions to the evidentiary rules, revisions to preliminary injunction procedure, discussion of how court and attorney mail to those in prison is handled, and consideration of standards for statements on oral argument and publication by parties in their appellate briefs.

Members of the Judicial Council are dedicated volunteers working to fulfill its mission as directed by the Legislature when it created the body in 1951. However, the work of the Judicial Council is hampered by a lack of funding.

No State Budget Funding

For most of its history the Judicial Council was included and funded in the state budget. In late 2017, though, Council funding was eliminated. As a result, the Council lost its statutorily authorized staff attorney who helped conduct research, draft proposed rules, monitor issues of procedure in the courts, and assist the Council’s chair with administrative tasks. The lack of staff has dramatically slowed the work of the Council – work that affects all attorneys, judges, litigants, and the tax-paying public.

In September 2024, the Council once again submitted a budget request to the state. The Council’s budget request is focused on reauthorizing a position to support the Council’s work.

Funding would cover the salary and benefits of the staff member that section 758.13 permits – a staff member who could help the Council accomplish so much more for judges, attorneys, and the public.

"It has been nearly 10 years since the Council had staff,” said Judicial Council Budget Committee Chair Adam Plotkin shortly after the request was submitted. “While it has continued to fulfill its mission to study and make recommendations on the administration and operation of the Wisconsin courts, its work is hampered by relying solely on volunteer members with full-time positions.”

The governor is expected to issue his budget proposal on Feb. 18, and then the Legislature will take over the budget process.

The State Bar has supported and lobbied for funding of the Judicial Council for the past several budget cycles, but your State Bar representatives on the Council ask for your help as well to persuade Gov. Tony Evers and the Legislature to include funding for the Council in the 2025 budget.

For more than seven decades the Council has made recommendations to the Legislature and Wisconsin Supreme Court that have made positive contributions to state statutes and supreme court rules. Full-time staff would expedite the Council's efforts.

Please voice your support for Council funding by contacting the governor’s office immediately and then by talking to your representatives in the Legislature, especially those on the Joint Finance Committee.

You can send a message to Gov. Evers here, and the State Bar makes it easy for you to find and send a letter to your legislators here.