MILWAUKEE — A group of volunteers is celebrating one year of honoring Erin Mogensen by putting extra eyes in the courtroom. They’re now sharing the details of what they’ve found in a newly published report.
Erin and her unborn child were killed by a reckless driver who was fleeing police in 2023.
“She had just discovered she was 8 weeks pregnant and we lost both of them at the same time,” said Erin’s mother, Ruth Ehrgott. "Now it hit close to home."
The tragedy left Ruth and dozens of others on a mission to attack the problem of people fleeing police and driving recklessly in Milwaukee.
They launched a group called ‘Court Watch’ one year ago, which focuses on accountability in the courtroom.
Bright green badges identify their effort, clipboards help twenty volunteers collect information, and pins showing a picture of Erin explain why they’re doing it.
Court Watch group leader Jeanne Lupo says they mark down the punishment prosecutors recommend and compare it to what judges decide. They also submit impact statements in each case they follow that ask the judge to consider protection of the community in their ruling.
“Do you think it makes a difference having a court watcher in the courtroom during sentencing?” Lighthouse reporter Ben Jordan asked.
"Yes I do,” Lupo replied. “Just like anybody, if you’re being watched at your job, I think you’re going to do your job a little bit better.”
On Monday, Court Watch witnessed a defendant named Juan Williams get sentenced for habitually fleeing police. During the incident in question, Williams reached speeds of 105 m.p.h. during an eight-mile chase in a stolen car.
“The defendant is 39 years old,” the prosecutor said. “He should know better.”
The judge sentenced Williams to three years in prison followed by three years of extended supervision. That’s one year less behind bars than what prosecutors requested.
"The amount of time he could have faced for just this crime was 24 years,” Lupo said.
Lupo says this example speaks to what their latest Court Watch report found.
"Judge leniency continues to be a problem,” she said.
After analyzing hundreds of fleeing cases, their study shows that 65 percent of the time, judges gave a more lenient incarceration sentence than what prosecutors recommended. That’s down from 69 percent during the group’s first six months of monitoring cases.
“What do you hope judges take away from the findings in your report?” Jordan asked.
"We’re asking judges to rule with what the state is recommending,” Lupo replied. “We expect judges to at least go up to that marker. 50 percent of the cases that were ruled on were granted probation rather than incarceration. There’s no excuse for that. Probation does not prevent anybody from doing something else and it’s certainly not a consequence.”
The Court Watch report also breaks down sentencing decisions made by specific judges.
Jordan wanted to find out what Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley thinks about the findings of this Court Watch report.
His office told Jordan he didn’t have time for an interview within the past week. Jordan then requested through Ashley’s office to speak with any other circuit court judge about the report’s findings, but he never got a reply.
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