Dissension among Jefferson County judges gets rare public airing

Steven Elbow  —  12/09/2008 10:36 am

Jefferson County Judge John Ullsvik is not happy with the way Jefferson County courts are being run, and the presiding judge in the county, state Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick, is apparently not very happy with Ullsvik.

Ullsvik, who announced that he is not seeking re-election after 17 years on the bench, said in an interview that Koschnick and the system of assigning cases he instituted in September 2006 are the main reasons he's leaving.

"He has been very divisive to what was otherwise a harmonious courthouse," said Ullsvik, whose term ends next summer. "He's given special treatment to his staff compared with the rest of the county courthouse staff. He's had court commissioners do work that the judges always did so he wouldn't have to do it."

Ullsvik also aired his complaints about the administration of the county's court system -- the responsibility of the presiding judge -- to Jefferson County media, who interviewed him after he announced his retirement.

The timing of Ullsvik's retirement announcement, and his denunciation of Koschnick, have political implications. Koschnick announced last month he is hoping to knock off Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in next spring's Supreme Court election. He has the backing of conservatives, while Abrahamson has the support of liberals, in the supposed non-partisan race, which have in recent years become as nasty and partisan as any other elected office.

Ullsvik said he is supporting Abrahamson in the race, but not actively.

Koschnick said the system he instituted last year, which was approved by both the County Board and state court administrators, has improved the county's justice system, this year winning him a Leaders in the Law award from the Wisconsin Law Journal.

But two judges, Ullsvik and Jacqueline Erwin, opposed the changes. The four Jefferson County judges now operate in a Balkanized fashion; Ullsvik and Judge Jacqueline Erwin share a suite of offices while Koschnick and Judge William Hue share another suite -- and the two suites do not talk to each other.

Despite the bad feelings under his watch, Koschnick said the situation is not an indictment of his leadership abilities. He said his decisions have been made in the interest of the public.

"What kind of leader shies away from a decision just because some others aren't going to agree with him?" he said.

Ralph Cagle, a UW-Madison law professor, said he doesn't know the specifics of the Jefferson County dispute, but said it merits scrutiny in light of the Supreme Court race.

"My sense is anytime there are concerns about a judge's ability to work with other judges, that's certainly a relevant issue in a Supreme Court race," he said.

The dispute in the Jefferson County courthouse dates to the beginning of 2007, when Koschnick changed the way judges are assigned cases, taking the county from the small-town model of assigning judges a variety of cases to a specialized court system, used in larger counties, in which assignments are divvied up by type. Koschnick and Erwin took criminal cases, Hue general cases that include small claims, children in need of protective custody, juvenile offenders and mental commitments. Ullsvik was assigned civil and divorce cases, which he said require more time and more written opinions.

The judges periodically get new assignments so they stay well-versed in all areas of the law.

From a statistical standpoint, the change improved the court's efficiency. The county courts disposed of 7,633 cases in 2007, a nearly 31 percent increase from 2006, according to records at the state court administrator's office.

Koschnick said the changes also enhanced public safety by getting offenders, mainly drunken drivers, through the system more quickly, reducing the time they spend out on bond awaiting trial -- time they could be committing new crimes.

And the system has saved the county money, he said. He reduced staff by one full-time administrative assistant and employed a half-time court commissioner to relieve judges of such mundane tasks as presiding over initial court appearances for criminal offenders.

Hue, who calls himself a friend of Koschnick, doesn't deny that there's a "regrettable" problem in the courthouse. He likens it to a marriage gone bad. But he said it started with the judges in the other suite.

"There have been more than frequent gestures from me to attempt to repair that," he said.

Hue said he initially told Abrahamson he would support her in the spring Supreme Court race, but now says he's staying neutral in light of Ullsvik going public with the court's dirty laundry.

"This whole thing to me is a huge tragedy," he said. "I'm really surprised it's being aired out in the public. I would tell you it happens all the time, but it doesn't get out in the public much."

In May of this year, Ullsvik found out about an April 29 e-mail from Koschnick to Erwin, in which Koschnick complained that Ullsvik was not carrying his share of the load. The e-mail was to Erwin, who had picked up some family and civil cases to help Ullsvik out.

The e-mail provides a rare glimpse into a judicial culture that strives to present a public face of collegiality and decorum.

"It's apparent that John is not motivated to make the system work properly," Koschnick wrote.

Koschnick complained that Ullsvik dumps his work on colleagues, and doesn't start hearing cases until 9 a.m., while the other judges schedule hearings for 8:15 a.m. or 8:30 a.m.

"I appreciate that each judge has the freedom to schedule as s/ he see fit, but it seems to me to be disingenuous to begin the work day so late and then dump your work onto somebody else because 'you don't have enough time on your schedule,'" he wrote.

In anticipation of Ullsvik's switch to a criminal case load next year, Koschnick commented, "I also fully expect that when John takes over a criminal case load in January that he will quickly fall behind. His failure is persistent and self-motivated."

The missive prompted Ullsvik to fire off a complaint and self-defense memo on May 2 to Davis and Abrahamson -- who as chief justice sits atop the state's court system -- claiming that he regularly works 10-hour days, writes a large volume of decisions and doesn't have the help of a part-time court commissioner like the other three judges do.

Koschnick, who called the matter an "internal, administrative matter," would not comment on the e-mail.

"I don't think it's appropriate to be commenting on those," he said.

Erwin declined comment for this story, but Hue said Koschnick's written comments should be taken in context.

"I would say in and of itself, as I read it too, it takes on a tone which might have been unduly harsh or misinterpreted," he said.

Ullsvik, Hue said, never told Koschnick of his problems keeping up with his case load. If he had, he said, the other judges would have gladly helped him out.

Hue said he didn't hold it against Ullsvik for taking time with cases. Ullsvik, he said, is methodical and contemplative by nature. "That's his style."

But he faulted Ullsvik for responding to Koschnick's e-mail to Erwin by going over Koschnick's head all the way to Abrahamson, rather than going to Koschnick himself.

"There's a protocol that is followed, and it seems like the protocol wasn't followed here," Hue said.

Steven Elbow  —  12/09/2008 10:36 am