The backlog of unresolved felony-related matters in Milwaukee County has surpassed the pandemic-era peak, topping more than 10,000 as of Oct. 13, according to data obtained from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office through an NNS open records request.
As cases linger, people throughout the criminal justice system feel the effects, including victims and their families, people accused of crimes and the broader community, said Kent Lovern, Milwaukee County district attorney.
“‘Justice delayed, justice denied’ applies to everybody,” Lovern said.
One recent high-profile incident reaffirms how case backlogs could have tragic and life-altering consequences.
On Feb. 5, a Milwaukee man, Mile Dukic, allegedly stabbed and killed 44-year-old Amanda Varisco on West National Avenue and S. 36th Street. At the time of the killing Dukic had separate open felony cases in Milwaukee County Circuit Court – for bail jumping and stalking. He was charged with another felony, first-degree intentional homicide, on Feb. 9.
Dukic is currently in custody with bail set at $500,000.
Two different backlogs
The district attorney’s office plays a pivotal role at both ends of the felony pipeline, said a spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office: referrals from police awaiting a charging decision, and charged felony cases working their way through the courts.
The Milwaukee Police Department made 5,650 summary felony arrests in 2025, according to an MPD spokesperson. The department continues to work with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office to best address the felony backlog, the MPD spokesperson said.
District attorney records show 2,924 pending uncharged felony cases as of October 2025.
State office wants county to change approach, charge fewer felonies
The spokesperson for the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office said the district attorney’s office can and should do more to address the growing backlog by adjusting its approach.
“We believe prosecutors should be exercising more discretion in which referrals they are charging,” the spokesperson said. The spokesperson said their office regularly sees clients charged with relatively minor offenses lose jobs or housing as a result – consequences that can outweigh the underlying charge.
When the prosecutor’s office officially presses felony charges, these cases can get bogged down and stay in the courts. Resolution to the cases depends not only on prosecutors but also on defense attorneys, judges, court staff and other resources that are strained as well, Lovern said.
Based on the district attorney’s internal case-tracking system, more than 7,000 felony cases were charged but not yet resolved as of Oct. 13.
“The influx of felony charges coming out of the DA’s office isn’t benefiting the court system or public safety,” said State Public Defender Jennifer Bias. “It’s a waste of our scarce attorney resources.”
Increase in ‘serious criminal activity’
Lovern pushes back on the idea that prosecutors are charging too many cases.
“I want to make it very clear: I don’t have goals for what we ought to be charging,” he said. “I don’t have a directive of what the percentage of our charging rate should be.”
Prosecutors decline to move forward on many referrals, said Jeffrey Altenburg, Milwaukee’s chief deputy district attorney.
On a basic public safety level, there are simply more serious felonies being committed, Lovern and Altenburg said.
“I think that that’s exactly what we’re seeing,” Altenburg said. “We’re seeing more referrals coming to this office that involve firearms, violence, sexual violence.”
Milwaukee Police Department data show reports of the majority of the most serious offenses declined from 2024 to 2025, with the exception of homicides and human trafficking, which increased slightly.
Violent crime in Milwaukee has generally declined in the past few years – but from historic highs seen during the pandemic, according to data from the Council on Criminal Justice.
When to charge
Charging decisions begin with a decision about whether a case is provable beyond a reasonable doubt, Altenburg said.
“We adhere to that standard very scrupulously in this office,” he said.
Once that is determined, the district attorney’s office moves to the question of whether prosecution is necessary or a different kind of intervention is more appropriate, Altenburg said.
Alternatives to traditional prosecution
In Milwaukee, there are two alternative interventions: diversion and deferred prosecution.
Diversion allows a person to complete requirements, such as treatment, restitution or community service, without a criminal charge.
Deferred prosecution involves issuing charges with an agreement in which a conviction is withheld if the person meets various conditions.
Lovern said local prosecutors created an early-intervention approach designed to steer nonviolent cases driven by substance use or mental health challenges out of the criminal justice system when appropriate.
In 2020, Milwaukee County intervened in roughly 600 cases, Altenburg said. Last year, the county intervened in roughly 1,600 cases.
Modern policing demands
Lovern said the nature of modern policing – and modern evidence – has fundamentally changed prosecutors’ workload.
The sheer volume of evidence that must be reviewed contributes to growing wait times before charging decisions can be made, Lovern said.
More evidence is generated because of modern technologies and other tools used by police. A single incident can, for example, generate hours of body-camera footage that prosecutors review before making charging decisions, Lovern said.
In 2020, there were 84,000 pieces of evidence in Milwaukee’s database. In 2024, there were 1.7 million items.
“I’m sure last year, it was even higher. That’s just where we’re headed,” Lovern said.
Staffing and system capacity
Something that adds to both backlogs – uncharged cases awaiting a decision and charged cases in the system – is insufficient staffing levels throughout the court system, a trend that has continued since the pandemic.
The district attorney’s office has about 125 full-time prosecutors, Lovern said.
“Now that is a lot. It’s the same number that we had when (Altenburg) and I started in this office 28 years ago, though.”
The State Public Defender’s Office also faces staffing challenges, according to its spokesperson.
“Broadly speaking, our agency needs more staff statewide,” the spokesperson said. “This wouldn’t address delays caused by prosecutors, but it would help to decrease the time it takes to appoint attorneys to indigent defendants and reduce the turnover in staff that office experiences due to burnout.”
There is also a need for support staff that help with administrative tasks, freeing up attorneys.
Lovern said unstable funding adds to staffing pressures.
About a third of legal staff in the county had been funded with federal grant dollars, which has been a little less predictable in the last couple of years, Lovern said.
“We can use more positions,” Lovern said. “There’s no question about that.”
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