Vacancy rates for prosecutors and public defenders across Wisconsin have been more than halved since the state raised wages for the positions last year, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Vacant prosecutor positions are at less than one-third of the number seen prior to a law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Tony Evers that bumped up starting wages to $36 per hour from $27.24 last May. Public defender vacancies have fallen to about 10% from their 2022–23 rate of 20% after the same wage increase.
According to Wisconsin District Attorney’s Association President Eric Toney, as of last month, the vacancy rate for prosecutors has fallen to 4.2%, from 11.8% last October and 14.4% one year before that.
He says the pay raise has helped significantly with prosecutor recruitment and retention, and State Public Defender legislative liaison Adam Plotkin says the increases were a key factor in stabilizing staffing levels as well.
