Inmates Abuse John Doe Law, File Frivolous Criminal Complaints
Madison… Prisoners would waste fewer taxpayer dollars with frivolous, retaliatory criminal complaints against correctional officers under a bill Senator Dale Schultz supports in the state legislature.
“Too many prisoners are bored and spend time as ‘jail-house lawyers’, tying up our court system by filing frivolous litigation,” said Schultz. “One way they abuse the law is by filing ‘John Doe’ complaints alleging crimes by correctional officers.”
Under the John Doe process, a criminal complaint by an inmate bypasses an investigation by the Department of Corrections, local police or sheriff and the county District Attorney, and goes straight to a Judge.\
“Having a criminal complaint filed against you, as is happening to correctional officers, can ruin a personal reputation and destroy a career,” Schultz said. “I support a bill that first has a District Attorney investigate a John Doe complaint and if the DA determines it’s frivolous, it stops there.”
The John Doe reform bill Schultz supports passed in the State Assembly with bipartisan support. However, Democrats in control of the Senate would not allow a vote on that bill and instead passed a weak bill that still sends a John Doe complaint to a judge.
“We can stop frivolous complaints that abuse taxpayers, our courts and correctional officers, while maintaining human rights for inmates,” Schultz said. “Assembly Bill 695 achieves those goals, whereas the bill authored by Senator Lena Taylor fails.”
The bill Schultz supports also applies to persons under arrest by a law enforcement agency, in a county jail, and sexually violent patients at Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center in Mauston.
Listen to Audio from the Senate Debate: