Milwaukee County District Attorney Kent Lovern (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Nearly a month after being sworn in as Milwaukee County’s 32nd district attorney, Kent Lovern says the job is exactly what he prepared for. “It’s everything I expected it to be,” Lovern said during a luncheon hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club Wednesday. With 27 years of prosecutorial experience under his belt, much of it as an assistant DA in the Milwaukee office, Lovern said that he’s facing both the challenges and opportunities in the office head on.

Lovern discussed his work with cases involving domestic violence, firearms enforcement, long-term drug and gang investigations over the years. “My general approach to crime is that violent crime, including reckless driving, deserves a strong response,” he said. And, he added, he is  “very familiar with what that means…And it ultimately means removing people from the community for some period of time, in response to their transgressions.” 

But Lovern, who succeeded John Chisholm as district attorney, also said that not every transgression  needs to be addressed through the “punitive justice system.” People dealing with mental illness and addiction could be handled with therapeutic treatment, he said. Lovern also highlighted the use of community prosecution units, which he described as partnerships to address criminal justice issues at the neighborhood level. 

He  stressed the need for collaboration across the criminal justice system and  with community organizations, nonprofits and people who work with vulnerable residents. Community collaboration, plus attracting family-sustaining jobs to Milwaukee County, will go a long way towards building safer communities, he said. 

During the luncheon, Lovern took questions from a panel of local news reporters. He noted that reckless driving continues to be a top concern in Milwaukee, even in neighborhoods where gun violence is common. “Years ago there used to be a term for this — they would call it ‘joy riding’,” said Lovern. But there is nothing joyful about  “endangerment to people out there in the roadway,” he said.

Asked about a Milwaukee County Court Watch finding that, in reckless driving cases, judges gave lighter sentences than  prosecutors recommended 69% of the time, Lovern said prosecutors will continue to make recommendations for tougher sentences. 

To work cases, however, you need lawyers, and those are in short supply across Wisconsin. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys are in need of more staff in Milwaukee County, Lovern said. “We have an office that is very young, in terms of experience,” he said, adding that of the 125 lawyers in his office, “over half of those prosecutors have less than five years of experience.” More funding from the state Legislature would help a lot, he said. 

Federal funding cuts

Lovern said that 12 and a half positions within the district attorney’s office were supported by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) federal funding. That money replaced losses in other grant funding. Statewide, district attorney’s offices are looking at possibly losing 28 total positions. “The state is the funding source, legally, of DA positions across the state of Wisconsin,” said Lovern. “I think the role of government is to give us what we need, and not more,” said Lovern. “And I’m asking for what we need.” 

Not having enough attorneys worsens backlogs of cases, creating  a cascade of effects. Everyone from lawyers to suspects to crime victims need to wait longer for the legal process to play out. “It’s important that our system functions at the highest level possible,” said Lovern. He stressed that “I want to see a fully staffed public defender’s office, and of course private bar, too. It’s imperative that our system function at the highest level possible.”

Resources for crime victims increases their survival rate Lovern said. He recalled that during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who were crime victims — such as for domestic violence — stopped sharing information with prosecutors and law enforcement. The pandemic isolated people, including those in dangerous situations and in some cases, Lovern said, victims lost their lives. 

Lovern also addressed issues with the Milwaukee County Criminal Justice Facility, jail, and courthouse. The massive concrete complex, which he described as “crumbling,” wasn’t designed for the roles it now must serve. Lovern noted that victims and suspects don’t have different hallways in which to leave court proceedings. In those drab, windowless hallways, lawyers have to review documents with their clients on trash bins instead of tables, Lovern said. Recently, the need for more security in Milwaukee courts was raised.

Lovern stressed that Milwaukee County needs to be safe in order to grow. Although the press club’s media panel noted that Milwaukee Police Department data suggests crime is trending downward, polls during the presidential election showed that people still felt unsafe in Milwaukee County. “Perception drives reality,” Lovern said, asserting  that he will be tough on crime.

During the luncheon, two cases were on  the public’s mind. There was the homicide of Sade Robinson, who was found dismembered in Milwaukee County in 2024. Lovern was asked if there were any updates as to the prosecution of Maxwell Anderson, who was arrested for Robinson’s murder, but he declined to comment. Likewise, the district attorney declined to comment on the death of D’Vontaye Mitchell, who died during an altercation with hotel security shortly before the Republican National Convention in 2024. Three of the hotel staff charged in Mitchell’s death took plea deals. There were also questions about TMJ4 finding that the Milwaukee’s Housing Authority was at risk of illegally using federal funds, to which Lovern said that nothing has been brought to his office. 

The district attorney was also asked about his office’s use of reckless homicide charges in overdose cases. While reckless homicide charges after a fatal drug overdose were originally intended to go after drug dealers, advocates fear that drug users who report a friend or spouse’s overdose may be arrested, which could discourage people from calling for help. Lovern said that drug overdose investigations are very complex, and the question of exactly what drug killed someone is harder to answer than people think. 

“We see a handful of these every year,” said Lovern, adding that police send a small number of drug overdose reckless homicide cases to the district attorney’s office. While some cases are charged, other times charges for possession with intent to deliver are used. Lovern said that he couldn’t recall any cases where a spouse was  charged, but because drugs like fentanyl can be lethal and are dangerous. “We’re going to prosecute those cases where we have the evidence to do so,” he told Wisconsin Examiner. “There’s no question about that.”