ASSEMBLY OKS HUGE REWRITE OF CRIME LAWS

Categories, Penalties Would Change In
Preparation For Truth In Sentencing

Madison - A sweeping face lift for Wisconsin's criminal justice system
that establishes sentencing guidelines and new classes of felonies
overwhelming passed the state Assembly Thursday.

The bill, on a fast track in the Assembly after the governor's
Criminal Penalties Study Committee made the recommendations it
embodies a month ago, was approved on an 83-13 vote and sent to the
Senate.

Before approving the first massive rewrite of the state's criminal
code in 50 years, however, majority Republicans shot down Democratic
proposals to study the bill's effect on minorities.

Firing back during nearly five hours of debate, Democrats tried in
vain to lay claim to a Republican proposal that would toughen
penalties for an array of property crimes, from receiving stolen
property to issuing a worthless check.

When the dust settled, a package of reforms emerged that even
supporters acknowledged was a work in progress.

"This is not the perfect bill," said Eau Claire County Circuit Judge
Thomas Barland, chairman of the study committee. "This bill is only
the first step."

Speaking during a Republican caucus before the vote, Barland said
refining sentencing guidelines and the criminal code could take five
to seven years.

The bill would increase classes of felonies from six to nine in an
attempt to balance nearly 500 felonies and their sentences.

Also included in the bill are sentencing guidelines for judges to
follow, and creation of a 20-member Sentencing Commission. That panel
would study sentencing practices statewide and adopt advisory
sentencing guidelines for use by the courts once the state's
truth-in-sentencing law takes effect.

Rep. Robert Goetsch (R-Juneau), chairman of the Assembly's Criminal
Justice Committee, called the changes healthy.

"This is probably going to bring more confidence to the justice
system," he said.

But Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) said legislators moved too quickly
and did not address problems of prison crowding and the need to ship
prisoners out of state.

"This is a golden opportunity missed, and it was because of haste,"
said Richards, who still voted for the measure. "This is not a proud
day."

The bill would implement Wisconsin's truth-in-sentencing law, which
takes effect Dec. 31.

"This is really about certainty and consistency," Rep. Scott Walker
(R-Wauwatosa) said. "The public has the certainty that, once
convicted, the sentence will be 100 percent served behind bars."

Although the bill received speedy consideration in the Assembly, a
spokesman for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Gary George
(D-Milwaukee) said he expects a more deliberative approach in the
smaller chamber.

"We're going to take a more careful examination of the bill than the
Assembly did and look at some changes," said spokesman Dan Rossmiller.

George has scheduled a hearing on the bill for Oct. 11 in
Milwaukee.

But Barland warned against legislative inaction on the
bill.

"If you do not pass this bill, you should not put truth in sentencing
into effect, because you'll bankrupt the state," Barland said.

If the new guidelines do not take effect at the same time as the
truth-in-sentencing law, longer sentences handed down by judges would
worsen crowding in state prisons, he said.

The bill would adjust sentences to account for the truth-in-sentencing
law. Similar measures in Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia resulted in
minimal increases in prison populations, he said.

Barland said the bill generally would increase the time violent
offenders spend in prison, and would set guidelines for extended
supervision of offenders once they were released.

For example, convicted burglars now face maximum sentences of 10
years, but they can get out after 21/2 years and must be released
after 61/2 years. The bill increases the maximum to 71/2 years, plus
extended supervision, Barland said.

"It's important to adopt this because we proposed guidelines that
allow a judge to go through a rational process in sentencing," Barland
said.

Assembly Democrats lost in attempts to get funding for child abuse
programs as a measure to prevent crime, and to conduct studies of
probation and of racial disparities in the prison population. Rep. G.
Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) proposed a Legislative Council study of
race issues, but his plan was sunk on a 54-44 vote.

"We restore public confidence in an issue when we tell the truth,"
Coggs said. "Race is the issue, and we are in denial."

Then a tug-of-war broke out over toughening penalties. Rep. Frank
Lasee (R-Bellevue), at the request of the GOP caucus, had put aside an
amendment to lower the threshold for felony property crimes from
$2,000 to $1,000.

Assembly Minority Leader Shirley Krug (D-Milwaukee) then took Lasee's
measure and introduced it. A procedural wrangle followed in which
Krug's amendment was scrapped and Lasee's identical proposal revived
and passed.

"This is not fair. This is an exercise in raw political power,"
complained Rep. Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids).

The Assembly also approved an amendment by Rep. Mark Gundrum (D-New
Berlin) that would take the probation option away from judges in
sentencing repeat sexual assault offenders.

Instead, judges would have to sentence those offenders to at least
31/2 years in prison.

The bill also would require all future crime bills and changes in
penalties to be reviewed by a joint legislative committee.

Earlier in the day, new state Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes, who
served on the study committee as a Milwaukee County circuit judge,
urged lawmakers to support the bill.

"It's hard to restore coherence and credibility to the criminal
justice system," Sykes said. "We were very attentive to the
legislative rationale that you had as you tried to put in place the
laws of the state."

SIDEBAR: How the Assembly voted

Here is how the state Assembly voted Thursday on a bill that would
dramatically change the state's criminal code. The measure passed,
83-13.

Republicans voting yes: Ainsworth, Shawano; Albers, Loganville;
Brandemuehl, Fennimore; Duff, New Berlin; Foti, Oconomowoc; Freese,
Dodgeville; Gard, Peshtigo; Goetsch, Juneau; Grothman, West Bend;
Gunderson, Waterford; Gundrum, New Berlin; Hahn, Cambria; Handrick,
Minocqua; Hoven, Port Washington; Huebsch, Onalaska; Hundertmark,
Clintonville; Hutchison, Luxemburg; Jensen, Waukesha; Jeskewitz,
Menomonee Falls; Johnsrud, Eastman; Kaufert, Neenah; Kedzie, Elkhorn;
Kelso, Green Bay; Kestell, Elkhart Lake; Kreibich, Eau Claire; Ladwig,
Racine; Lasee, Bellevue; M. Lehman, Hartford; Leibham, Sheboygan;
Montgomery, Green Bay; Musser, Black River Falls; Nass, Whitewater;
Olsen, Berlin; Ott, Forest Junction; Owens, Oshkosh; Petrowski,
Marathon; Pettis, Hertel; Porter, Burlington; Powers, Albany; Rhoades,
Hudson; Seratti, Spread Eagle; Skindrud, Mount Horeb; Spillner,
Montello; Stone, Greenfield; Suder, Abbotsford; Sykora, Chippewa
Falls; Townsend, Fond du Lac; Underheim, Oshkosh; Urban, Brookfield;
Vrakas, Hartland; Walker, Wauwatosa; Ward, Fort Atkinson; and
Wieckert, Appleton.

Republicans voting no: None

Democrats voting yes: Balow, Eau Claire; Bock, Milwaukee; Carpenter,
Milwaukee; Cullen, Milwaukee; Hasenohrl, Pittsville; Hebl, Sun
Prairie; Huber, Wausau; Hubler, Rice Lake; Kreuser, Kenosha; Krug,
Milwaukee; Krusick, Milwaukee; La Fave, Milwaukee; Lassa, Plover; J.
Lehman, Racine; Meyer, La Crosse; Meyerhofer, Kaukauna; Miller,
Monona; Plale, South Milwaukee; Plouff, Menomonie; Richards,
Milwaukee; Ryba, Green Bay; Schooff, Beloit; Sherman, Port Wing;
Staskunas, West Allis; Steinbrink, Kenosha; Turner, Racine; Wasserman,
Milwaukee; Waukau, Antigo; Wood, Janesville; and Ziegelbauer, Manitowoc.

Democrats voting no: Berceau, Madison; Black, Madison; Coggs,
Milwaukee; Colon, Milwaukee; Morris-Tatum, Milwaukee; Pocan, Madison;
Reynolds, Ladysmith; Riley, Milwaukee; Schneider, Wisconsin Rapids;
Sinicki, Milwaukee; Travis, Madison; Williams, Milwaukee; and Young,
Milwaukee. Republicans not voting: Klusman, Oshkosh

Democrats not voting: Boyle, Superior; Gronemus, Whitehall

Sentencing overhaul

Highlights of the criminal code legislation approved Thursday by the state
Assembly:

Expands the number of felony categories from six to nine, and creates
new sentences for nearly 500 felonies.

Eliminates mandatory minimum sentences for most felonies.

Increases some offenses, such as stalking and possessing a gun in a
school zone, from misdemeanors to felonies.