VIROQUA, Wis. – As we reported last week the Hidden Valleys Municipal Court that handles cases for the Cities of Viroqua and Westby, and the Villages of La Farge and Cashton has been without a judge since April when Judge Nikki Swayne decided she would not run for re-election. That court has been unable to find a replacement judge because the limited amount of people who can meet the two main requirements to serve, to be a licensed attorney and live within one of the municipalities that is served by the court.
The Hidden Valleys Municipal Court was formed by the city of Viroqua back in 2005 is administered by the city of Viroqua and processes traffic citations, including first time OWI, and ordinance violations issued in the Cities of Viroqua and Westby, and the Villages of La Farge and Cashton. The court does not handle criminal cases, those are handled by the Vernon County Circuit Court.
City of Viroqua Attorney’s George and Stephanie Hopkins have been working with the District 7 court officials to find some guidance on how to proceed when a judge steps down and there is no one available to serve in the seat. George Hopkins attended the Municipal Court Committee meeting this week and told the committee the situation is “uncharted territory”. Hopkins said they have consulted court officials and there is no guidance in state statute for the situation.
The court committee recently raised the idea of changing the qualifications so that a non-attorney could serve in the seat. City Attorney George Hopkins gave his opinion on that to the Viroqua City Council on May 28. Hopkins said he would advise against that approach stating many of the cases could likely be handled by someone without a law degree but said there are a few cases that are fairly complicated and those could end up getting the city in legal jeopardy if they are handled incorrectly. The council ultimately did not to lower the qualifications for the seat and asked city management and the court to continue to look for a replacement or other options.
The lack of a judge has shut the court down since April but the court will assign Judge Dennis Marcou by District 7 as a temporary judge until November. Marcou currently serves as Municipal Judge for the City of La Crosse. Hopkins and City Administrator Nate Torres said they have done everything possible to fill the seat including posting to the Vernon County Bar Association and other legal websites and there has been no one willing, or able, to step up.
The situation got even more complicated this week when the courts prosecutor, Attorney Jacob Menn said he has obtained other employment and will also be leaving the court by about mid-August.
Administrator Torres he met with Mayor Justin Running, Viroqua Police Chief Rick Niedfeldt and other city staff and they have decided to ask the District 7 Court for permission to leave the court. They directed Hopkins to draft a memo to the court asking for that permission. Other community representatives at the meeting expressed interest in keeping the court going. The question that no one seemed to have a clear answer for is if the court needs to be disbanded as Hidden Valleys and the reformed with the remaining three municipalities under a different name.
Westby Mayor Danny Helgerson said the three communities will write separate memo asking for permission to reform the committee. The committee will do outreach to area attorneys to see if someone would be willing to served as a prosecutor for the court form now until the court shuts down in November. The Court is set to resume hearing cases again in August under Judge Marcou. The prosecutor position does not have the same residency restrictions as the judges position so any licensed attorney the area could fill that role. Both positions pay around $8,100 a year.
Cost of speeding of Viroqua will go up
At previous city council meetings Viroqua Police Chief Rick Niedfeldt said there is a financial benefit to keeping the court going. Niedfeldt said the amount of traffic tickets is lower if the city has its own court and the amount of money the city keeps from each ticket is also higher.
Viroqua Police Chief Rick Niedfeldt
“We will make significantly more money through the municipal court than through the circuit court,” said Niedfledt. “More of the money stays with us.”
Niedfeldt said currently a speeding ticket in the city is $88 and if this court is disbanded that will go up to $175.30, and the city would make less money off of each citation.
In terms of overall revenue for the city the court has not been a significant source of revenue. City Administrator Torres said when the court is running smoothly will generate somewhere between $10,000 and $20,000. Although Torres said in recent years it has not produced that much revenue due to COVID and personnel changes. But he also said it could produce that again if a judge is found and the court gets back on track.
Torres said Viroqua accounts for 48 percent of the total cases that the court handles and expenses and income are allocated between the communities based on a formula that takes into account the number of citations form each community and populations served.
Torres said based on the meetings they have had at the city and with their legal counsel, he will make the recommendation to the Viroqua City Council next week to approve the memo asking to withdraw from the court and send their municipal cases to the county circuit court.
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