To be fair is fine but there is no conflict since O'leary does not work for the Sheriff Dept. His duty is to enforce the law as written. It was a simple political deflection to kill it since he is a Democratic candidate. The DA prosecutes any and all charges brought against law enforcement officers within their counties all the time. It was referred a couple months or so after the violation. I did inquire at the Dane Co DA after it was sent up and I could not EVER get a response. It was buried for the sake of politics

When was the case referred to Dane county?

tallman, to be fair, I think it was referred to Dane County because to proceed here in Rock County would be viewed as a conflict of interest.

I don't believe the DA should be affiliated with any party line. It should be a highly qualified individual that will treat ALL the same, charge according to the elements of the crime. Our present DA has several times referred complaints such as the Sheriff Cammander being involved with a Sheriff candidate's campaign, in uniform, on pay status at a union sponsored debate. There is no question it was a violation of Sheriff's Dept policy and proceedure but O'leary referred it to the Dane County DA. The reason was so that it would be not dealt with and he didn't have the nerve to do what he was elected to do because it involved the Democratic Party of which he represents. The Dane County DA then buried it and never addressed the complaint!!!!! To much politics and favoritism. Equal justice for all. Vote in an Independant if someone would only run on that party.

this is probably going to be stereotypical-I apologize upfront.

Cuz attorneys are only interested in money, not justice...

I don't want the job, nor am I capable or qualified, but I want someone in there who is!

wisconsinheat, it IS as bad as people say it is and the crime is getting worse (perhaps not crime rates, but the frequency of crime and the nature of repeat offenders), the sentences are too soft and the jails are too full...

It doesn't sound like a good situation to be in, but if the DA would start making examples out of some of these criminals, perhaps things would start to improve.

It's been the same set of complaints for the last thirty years.
We've had Republican - and Democrat DA's, and the complaints are the same.
The only difference is the length of their time in office.
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It's a good gig if you can get it it.
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If it's as bad as some would lead you to believe, then why aren't there competent attorney's standing in line to serve the citizens?

miltonguy, I have worked with victims of crimes and worked closely with the Victim Witness office, the DA office and local law enforcement. I have seen the crimes that affect many in our society but are viewed by the DA's office as crimes against women only and are treated as "lover's quarrels", women who "change their mind" and women who are trying to "get even" with a former partner...the DA does not take seriously the crimes that affect our society in so many ways. I agree with the comment that someone with a private practice can make much more money than the DA. But I think that says a lot about the priorities of the justice system in Rock County as much as the DA office itself. As in all other areas in life: you get what you pay for.

To be fair, David O'Leary has had several high profile cases that have gone well for his office in recent years; however, the victims of crimes that are not high profile do not get their voices heard or have any sense of being treated right by the system. I can't say I blame them for being angry. So far, criminals get away with it...or with a notch on their bedpost and a slap on the wrist.

We NEED a choice. The current D.A. and his office has proven time and time again his office is ineffective.

This county as in many has shown that if you have a cerain statis, money or influence you can walk. Remember we in Rock County are putting LIBRARY FINE VIOLTORS in jail. Our criminal justice system has become a business all it's own. We have legislators that continue to pass legislation to put more and more individuals behind bars rather than treat the problem. Taxpayers foot the bill for it all!!! Yet we continue to place individuals in jail, prison or probation for some of the most trivial crimes, all in the name of keeping the system going and growing. I propose that we have a system that has a panel of three to four that get all reports and submissions for prosecution. These people would get all these submissions with names, age, ethnicity, addresses all redacted. This way the allegations are decided based on facts that meet the statutory elements of the crime before criminal charges are filed. Then and only then will the laws be prosecuted fairly with justice for all. DO yourselves a favor and speak to a retired police officer, deputy sheriff and or Sheriff and get their oppinion of how things are on the prosecution side. I say retired for otherwise there is the fear of retaliations.

One of every 100 people in the entire US are either in jail or prison. The ethnic disparity is so evident by the facts that we are putting people away unfairly. I could go on and on and this DA'S is no different than any other, but we in Rock County need to look at what we are responsible for in adding to the unfairness. We need a DA that is willing to charge regardless of who you are, know, and live. Check the records. It's open for all to receive and review before voting. I would like to see a few candidates run for this office to make it a challenge. Wisconsin has a Corrections budget as large as education so what does that tell us? The waste of money in Corrections is horrific. Probation is a joke and only a bend in the road for the lucky few offenders very rarely supervised according to rules and statutory direction. The final effective reality is that anyone with a law license and a good practice is making more money than the DA so only those who want the security and or feel that they can't make it or aren't good on their own run for this office.

Wow, what little people know about our local judicial system! For the people who wrote the previous comments…the system is not as black and white as you think. I would urge you to attend Rock County board meetings and look for ways to get more involved before you assume you know all there is to know by reading the paper a few times a week. Compare the ten year progress in Rock County’s crime rates, sentences and other key milestones with counties like Walworth, Jefferson and Dane who continue to show signs of digression in the majority of statistical categories. It is very comical to listen to these kind of people criticize everything that happens locally; yet, they do not take any actions to try and improve the situation. If you have grievances about the school district, local law enforcement, city officials, parks committees, building and planning board, etc…TURN OFF THE TV AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Hmmm! Let me see. I think I'll have to wait one year before I can come up with enough evidence to elect him.

oh yeah...and repeat drunk drivers. The reports of deaths due to drunk drivers is outrageous! There is simply no excuse for these people to have the freedom to continuously put me, my friends and family and my community members at risk by their immature and irresponsible behavior. There has got to be a more effective way to show these people the justice system means business.

I would hope that "the most serious cases" would include sexual assaults where the victim knows the perpetrator...the number of these cases that the DA office seeks to prosecute are terribly under-prosecuted.