Residents across Wisconsin head to the polls today, casting their vote for county elections. While much of Madison's attention has been focused on the County and School Board races, the decision to see who will be Madison's next municipal court judge might be the most relevant for students.
When a student is arrested for offenses including underage drinking, possession of a fake ID or a traffic violation, he or she would most likely appear in Municipal Court, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
Although Verveer expects voter turnout to be substantially lower than February's presidential primary, he believes the Municipal Court vote will have a direct effect on UW-Madison students.
The two hopefuls vying for the position are incumbent Dan Koval and challenger John Schweitzer, an administrative law judge with the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing. Koval was appointed by the Madison City Council last year, following the resignation of former Municipal Court Judge Shelley Gaylord.
Because many who appear in front of a Municipal Court judge are first time defendants, Koval said he looks at the court as a form of education and prevention, not punishment.
When presented with a first time offender accused of underage drinking or similar activities, Koval said he usually tries to assign the minimum legal penalty allowed by law. Recently, Koval emphasized commuting fines-which can reach into the hundreds of dollars-into community service hours.
\I look at the person's background,"" he said. ""If they don't have any priors ... normally what I'll do is look to cut them the minimum legally that I can, as well as give them the option to do the community service instead of paying the fine.""
Schweitzer touts his 12-plus years of experience as a judge and his attendance of the National Judicial College.
He said one of the main reasons he entered the race is to prevent having a defendant pay a hefty fine. Instead, Schweitzer said other options such as community service would be more appropriate.
""I would very strongly try to avoid just having somebody pay a fine. I would do my best to see if they would be willing to check out a social service reference,"" he said.
