MADISON—Beloit City Council President Regina Dunkin is closing in on two decades of service with the Wisconsin State Public Defender Board following her re-appointment to the state group earlier this year.
Dunkin made history in 2020 with her appointment as chair of the board as she became the first woman and first Black woman to lead the board which is tasked with oversight of the state’s public defender system.
Her reappointment comes as March is recognized as Women’s History Month and she said she hopes to continue to be a role model for young women and girls.
“I want to continue to be a voice for the citizens of Beloit and the citizens of the State of Wisconsin,” Dunkin said. “It’s been an honor to serve on this board having seen so many vital partnerships and efforts to improve access to legal counsel for all.”
Dunkin said she recognized a need for the board to position itself to participate in ongoing discussions surrounding criminal justice reform following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, by a white Minneapolis police officer in May of 2020 that sparked nationwide protests.
“We anticipate being part of the reform movement,” Dunkin said. “We provide people with the representation and justice they deserve. We need to examine how we are making a difference in people’s lives and to ensure that people have access to effective legal representation. This is about ensuring that people achieve better lives and better futures.”
Since her first appointment in 2003, Dunkin has had a hand in expanding the eligibility standard for representation based on updated, 2011 federal poverty guidelines; implemented a merit pay system to increase retention of attorneys and increased the private pay rate for private attorneys to take on public defender cases.
Recently, Dunkin said the board worked closely with State Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, R-Clinton, on legislation that allows the public defender’s office to exceed the 10% cap for merit raises for the remainder of the fiscal year. The move will allow the public defender’s office to close the gap created between public defenders and assistant district attorneys and is aimed at future retention of public defender staff.
The board assists in the public defender’s office budget process and ensures anyone eligible for a public defender has adequate representation. The state has around 675 attorneys in the state that handle public defender cases and the state office has a budget of around $100 million.