LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Jill Karofsky is calling on state lawmakers to increase funding for courthouse security and add more judges, warning that the state’s court system is facing growing safety concerns and staffing challenges.
During her State of the Judiciary address Wednesday at the Wisconsin Judicial Conference in Lake Geneva, Karofsky said Wisconsin judges reported 1,129 security threats in 2025. She noted that nearly 300 judges and justices across the state currently rely on just four state-funded law enforcement officers for security assistance.
“Every person who walks into a courthouse deserves to be safe,” Karofsky said. “That includes judges and jurors and staff and attorneys and witnesses and victims and defendants.”
Karofsky is asking the incoming governor and state legislature to prioritize courthouse security in the 2027-29 state budget. Her proposal includes making four existing security positions permanent, establishing a roughly $1.5 million grant program to help counties improve courthouse security, and expanding the Supreme Court marshal’s office. She noted that only 33 of Wisconsin’s 72 county courthouses had staffed security screening at their entrances as of October 2025.
The chief justice also wants lawmakers to approve eight additional circuit court judgeships and another Court of Appeals position to address increasing workloads. She is also seeking pay increases for judges, prosecutors, public defenders and court staff, pointing out that Wisconsin ranks 39th nationally in trial judge compensation.
“Resiliency is not the same as security. And resiliency is not a staffing plan,” Karofsky said. “Judges should not have to be heroic to be safe. And courts should not have to run on grit alone.”
Beyond security and staffing, Karofsky highlighted efforts to improve access to the justice system, including a new statewide online portal that allows people to request domestic abuse and harassment restraining orders. She also announced plans to bring the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Justice on Wheels program to Milwaukee next year.
