I was recently at an ABA Bar Leadership conference in New York and attended a symposium on mass and disparate incarceration. Past President Fran Deisinger was one of the presenters because, as you know, the State Bar of Wisconsin is at the forefront of grappling with a problem that has given the state unwanted notoriety.

As I listened to the presentation, I was again reminded that Wisconsin has the highest African-American incarceration rate in the nation.

Wisconsin spends almost $1.1 billion on state prisons. The additional cost of probation, parole, and other rehabilitative services, not to mention the economic costs to society in general, are also significant.

According to the Department of Corrections, it costs nearly $32,000 annually to incarcerate men in Wisconsin, who make up more than 93 percent of the prison population, which hovers around 23,000 and is expected to rise in the coming years.

The biennium budget bill contains a modest increase in pay for state court judges. We stand 41st in the nation, the bottom 20 percent; the basement. Our state prosecutors and public defenders are underpaid. The state public defender private-bar reimbursement is $40 per hour, the lowest in the country.

How could this have happened in Wisconsin? Why do we spend so much putting so many behind bars, at great expense, with the result that other needs suffer? The legislature begged for money to complete road projects that are years behind schedule. The University of Wisconsin system’s budget has been repeatedly slashed. What can be done?

The State Bar, as an institution, should continue to use every means at its disposal to persuade and educate Wisconsin residents, the legislature, and the governor that the criminal justice system must change. Ultimately, funding comes from taxpayers, who need to understand the costs of incarceration. We must develop less expensive alternatives that are cost effective while still providing deterrence.

We must develop less expensive alternatives that are cost effective while still providing deterrence.

Meting out punishment for crimes under our laws has become harder and harsher.

Dealing with this issue will take time. Changing the law is a slow process. The budget bill battle shows that it is, politically, difficult to balance priorities.

Legislation does not happen without substantial effort. We need to bring together constituencies within the criminal justice system. Ideas exist that could be turned into objective programs that judges, prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys can agree on that can reduce incarceration and thus its financial burdens.

Crime victims have suffered, but society pays the price for the system. Often, it seems, vengeance is the motive of the punishment imposed. That is not the goal of our system.

It upsets me that we throw so much money at a problem that just gets worse.

We must adequately compensate judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys so the justice system attracts the brightest and the best. We, as lawyers, need to step up. The State Bar needs to rise to these issues forthwith.