Wisconsin Republicans propose raises for public attorneys

MADISON, Wis. — Starting pay for Wisconsin public defenders and assistant district attorneys would increase to $36 an hour, or about $75,000 a year, under a Republican-authored plan passed unanimously Tuesday by the Legislature’s powerful budget-writing committee. The Public Defenders Office and district attorneys have struggled to hire and retain the number of attorneys they need to keep up with caseloads, in part because wages for those positions fall far below what an attorney could make in the private sector. The wage increases GOP lawmakers unveiled Tuesday surpass what Democratic...