14 Open Homicide Cases Putting Strain on Marathon County Court

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Updated: 7:42 PM Jun 18, 2009

14 Open Homicide Cases Putting Strain on Marathon County Court

Marathon County is currently dealing with 14 open homicide cases. That includes attempted homicide and drunk driving homicide. According to court officials, it's putting a major strain on the court system.

Posted: 4:52 PM Jun 18, 2009
Reporter: Liz Hayes
Email Address: lhayes@wsaw.com

14 Open Homicide Cases Putting Strain on Marathon County Court

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Marathon County is currently dealing with 14 open homicide cases. That includes attempted homicide and drunk driving homicide.

According to court officials, it's putting a major strain on the court system.

For a county the size of Marathon, 14 homicide cases going on at once is a lot. In fact, never in the county's history have there been so many.

And that's putting a lot of stress on judges, attorneys, and courthouse staff, along with families involved.

Judge Greg Grau, who also serves as the chief judge of the 9th district, says high-profile homicide cases take a lot of research, preparation, and work.

"A two week trial I would say usually consumes about four to five weeks of judge time, and I think for the attorneys it's certainly a lot more than that," Judge Grau said.

Most of the research judges do now is online, which is quicker and easier than digging through law books.

Attorneys have much more preparation with interviewing witnesses, looking up other cases, and developing facts.

A new statewide study shows that Marathon County needs 7.51 judges and is ranked 8th in the state for judicial need.

It currently has five, though one judge has been vacant for the past three years due to health issues.

Langlade County is ranked number one in terms of judicial need.

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