Dem AG Josh Kaul argued the state’s crime labs are operating efficiently and doing everything they can with the resources they have to process samples, pointing the finger at the GOP-controlled state Legislature for longer times to turn around cases.

In a Dec. 15 interview with WisPolitics, Kaul ticked off a series of improvements at the labs, from a new one opening in Milwaukee next year to using better tests and upgrading information mechanisms.

He argued the missing piece to improving the labs’ performance is a matter of money and resources, neither of which the GOP-controlled state Legislature approved in the most recent budget.

Kaul sought 19 new positions for the labs in the budget, and Dem Gov. Tony Evers included six in the proposal he sent to the Legislature. But lawmakers rejected any new positions after approving three in the 2023-25 budget, though they were all for toxicology and none to process DNA samples.

“So we’ve identified where there’s a need, but we need to have a partner in the Legislature,” Kaul said in the year-end interview.

The crime labs’ performance is expected to be one of the key issues in Kaul’s reelection bid next year. Republican Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney is seeking a rematch with Kaul in 2026 after losing to him by 35,000 votes three years ago. Toney joined with Kaul in 2023 in calling for additional resources to be approved for the labs. 

Still, he slammed Kaul after DOJ released its annual report earlier this month finding the lab took longer on average to process assignments involving DNA and toxicology, on average, even as it overall received fewer cases in 2024 compared to the year before. Toney called the labs’ performance a “broken promise” after Kaul pledged in his 2018 campaign to improve forensic testing.

Kaul today defended his record on the labs and said the previous rape test kit backlog is a separate issue. He said the test kits were addressed through legislation approved while he’s been in office creating a new timeline for processing them, along with a tracking system that allows victims to check online to see where their kit is in the testing process.

He continued to argue current turnaround times at the labs were due to the growing complexity of cases in areas like DNA while GOP lawmakers have ignored requests for additional resources. Kaul said the Legislature approved 31 new lab positions when GOP AG JB Van Hollen was in office, and noted a study done while his Republican predecessor Brad Schimel was AG showed the labs need additional positions.

GOP lawmakers directed the Legislative Audit Bureau to review the labs’ performance, and Kaul said the recommendations released last summer didn’t include any steps that would substantially speed up processing samples. He argued that confirms the labs are performing well with the resources they have.

“So we do need investment from the Legislature, and so we will keep working to get them to partner, and you know, it’s my hope that they will revisit this in the future,” Kaul said.

Kaul also announced today that DOJ joined 19 other states in suing the Trump administration over imposing a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions, which he said could undermine research and health care in Wisconsin. It is the 40th such action DOJ has joined against the president’s administration, with Kaul arguing they were a wise use of the agency’s resources because of the money involved and the benefit to Wisconsinites.

This summer, Kaul joined a multi-state lawsuit challenging a decision to freeze funding for U.S. Education Department grants. According to the Wisconsin DOJ, the state would’ve lost $72 million from the education grants alone if the administration hadn’t agreed to release the money.

“We have an administration in Washington that is not only pursuing policies that will be harmful to Wisconsinites, but that has introduced chaos into our system, and we’ve seen these cases have been an important stabilizing force for Wisconsinites,” Kaul said.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email