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Written by Kaul for Attorney General Press   
Thursday, 30 November 2017 10:45

drunk-driving-crashAttorney General Candidate Josh Kaul on TV report describing how delays in processing at the Wisconsin Department of Justice let dangerous offenders walk free "awaiting lab results".


MADISON – Josh Kaul, candidate for Attorney General, issued a statement Tuesday in response to reporting by Colleen Henry of WISN-TV that a driver “involved in [a] fatal July crash was out on bail after [a] 5th OWI charge because [the] court hadn’t received [the] toxicology report.”[1]

josh-kaul“The last thing that should let dangerous repeat offenders walk free for months is the phrase ‘awaiting lab results,’” Kaul said. “The only person who doesn’t seem to understand that is our current AG.”

According to WISN-TV’s report, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Justice denied that there are any delays and stated, “The only accounts of ‘delays’ are from the media and a political organization hell-bent on ensuring Brad Schimel is not Attorney General after the 2018 election.”

The official website for the Wisconsin Department of Justice shows, however, that the average turnaround time for toxicology results has increased from 32 days in 2014, before Brad Schimel took office, to 57 days in 2015 and 52 days in 2016.[2] As of mid-October, the average turnaround time in 2017 was 56 days[3]—a 75% increase from the average in 2014.

Kaul continued, “Sticking your head in the sand and insisting there are no delays isn’t a strategy to fix this problem. That approach just guarantees that the problem won’t get solved—until we have new leadership at the Department of Justice.”

*****

Kaul served as a federal prosecutor in Baltimore, one of America’s most violent cities. There, he prosecuted murderers, gang members, and drug traffickers, taking dangerous criminals off the street and making communities more secure. He grew up in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac in a family of law enforcement professionals and teachers.

For more information on Josh Kaul, please visit www.joshkaul.org

[1] See http://www.wisn.com/article/free-to-repeat-crime-lab-backup-blamed-for-delayed-trials/13819100.

[2] See https://www.doj.state.wi.us/dles/wscl/chemistry/forensic-toxicology.

[3] See https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/wisconsin/articles/2017-10-15/liberal-group-delayed-doj-blood-tests-led-to-fatal-crash.

Last Updated on Thursday, 30 November 2017 12:11
 
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