Dane County  
Minutes - Final Unless Amended by  
Committee  
Community Justice Council - Pre-Trial Services Subcommittee  
Consider:  
Who benefits? Who is burdened?  
Who does not have a voice at the table?  
How can policymakers mitigate unintended consequences?  
Wednesday, April 1, 2026  
12:15 PM  
Hybrid Meeting Attend in person at the City County  
Room 357  
A. Call To Order  
Meeting called to order at 12:16 PM  
Ozanne joined 1:00 PM.  
10 -  
Present  
COLLEEN CLARK-BERNHARDT, NICK MCNAMARA, ISMAEL OZANNE, JEFF  
OKAZAKI, MELISSA AGARD, SHANNON PIERCE, PETER MIDDLETON, KELLY  
SPLINTER, MARIANNE OLESON, and JAMES MORGAN  
1 - SARAH KRAHN  
Excused  
B. Consideration of Minutes  
Agard moved, Middleton seconded. Minutes approved.  
MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 28, 2026, CJC PRE-TRIAL SERVICES  
SUBCOMMITTEE  
2025  
MIN-656  
Attachments:  
Minutes of the January 28, 2026 CJC Pre-Trial Services  
Subcommittee Meeting  
C. Action Items  
None  
D. Presentations  
1. Welcome to New Community Members on the Subcommittee  
James Morgan and Marianne Oleson were introduced.  
2. Pathways to Pretrial Advancement Update  
PATHWAYS TO PRETRIAL ADVANCEMENT UPDATE  
2025  
PRES-298  
Attachments: Pathways to Pretrial Advancement Update  
Project Overview  
2025  
PRES-302  
Attachments: project_overview  
Tamarine Cornelius, Research Analyst at the Office of Justice Reform, gave an  
update on the Pathways to Pretrial Advancement technical assistance project in  
partnership with Advancing Pretrial Policy and Research. Areas of focus in Dane  
County include improving court appearance rates and strengthening diversion  
pathways.  
Discussion ensued regarding approaches for developing a system map.  
3. Failure to Appear presentation  
Failure to Appear Updated  
2025  
PRES-303  
Attachments: Failure to Appear Updated  
Emelia Currin, Intern at the Office of Justice Reform, summarized research  
about failing to appear in court and gave recommendations about improving  
Dane County’s text messaging court notification system.  
Discussion ensured regarding:  
•
The requirements to send court text reminder messages multiple times  
before the court hearing, instead of the current practice of one reminder.  
Changes to the frequency and timing of the reminders are possible when the  
calendar module for CCAP is re-written, which is scheduled to happen two or  
three years from now.  
•
Revisions to the wording of the reminder message, including offering the  
reminder in Spanish, would require approval from the State Courts Director and  
would not require technical changes. A request to provide the message in  
Spanish is currently pending. Any changes to the message would apply  
statewide.  
•
Third-party systems are available that could use CCAP data to send  
reminder messages. These systems are estimated to cost $20,000 to $25,000  
annually, with start-up costs of approximately $10,000 to $15,000.  
•
Some defendants may fail to appear at an initial appearance because they  
are unaware that a case has been filed against them. These failures to appear  
are treated the same as other non-appearances, which may be inequitable.  
•
Additional data on failures to appear would be useful, including the number  
of non-appearances, the number of warrants issued, the types of hearings  
missed, and the case types involved.  
Defendants should not communicate directly with the court regarding their  
ability to appear for a hearing. Such communication should occur through the  
defendant’s attorney.  
More information is needed to determine whether CCAP could transition to an  
opt-out text messaging model.  
Pretrial services staff often receive updated phone numbers from defendants,  
but they are unable to update  
that information in CCAP.  
E. Reports to Committee  
None  
F. Future Meeting Items and Dates  
The next meeting will be June 10, 2026. The meeting will be hybrid.  
In the near future, an update on the research regarding Dane County’s  
implementation of the Public Safety Assessment will be presented to the  
Community Justice Council and/or the Community Justice Council - Pretrial  
Services Subcommittee.  
G. Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda  
None  
H. Such Other Business as Allowed by Law  
Carousel Bayrd is leaving, and thanked for her service to Dane County.  
I. Adjourn  
Motion made by Agard, seconded by Pierce. Meeting adjourned at 1:10 PM.  
Minutes respectfully submitted by Tamarine Cornelius, pending subcommittee  
approval.