Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul gave himself an A for Wisconsin’s crime labs during Sunday’s debate on WISN 12’s “UPFRONT,” according to Republican challenger Eric Toney. Toney, the Fond du Lac County district attorney, called the self-assessment out of touch given documented delays that have slowed justice for victims.
They care about justice, and under Josh Kaul, it’s taking longer to get it, despite more resources to test less evidence.
The debate, moderated by Matt Smith and Gerron Jordan and taped at WISN-TV studios, was the only joint appearance between Kaul and Toney before the Nov. 3 election. After the debate, Toney posted that Kaul gave himself an A despite the labs taking twice as long to test less DNA evidence, even with more staff and better technology.
State records confirm the longer waits. A nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau report from June 2024 found the vacancy rate for crime lab analysts rose from 2.6 percent in July 2019 to 9.5 percent in July 2023. Evidence assignments dropped 13.2 percent over a similar period, from 12,494 to 10,843. Department of Justice annual reports show median DNA turnaround time more than doubled, from 50 days in 2018 to 112 days in 2024. These cases include sexual assault kits, crimes against children, and homicides.
Toney has cited the same audit and DOJ reports as evidence that management, not just money, is the issue. He said he helped secure additional positions in the 2023 budget, yet the later audit showed those positions were not filled and DNA delays worsened. “Victims waiting on DNA results don’t care about budget phases,” Toney said in a September statement. “They care about justice, and under Josh Kaul, it’s taking longer to get it, despite more resources to test less evidence.”
Kaul first won the office in 2018 after criticizing his predecessor over untested sexual assault kits. The 2024 audit also noted that of 146 sexual assault kits sent to private labs that then required further DOJ analysis, nearly all took longer than six months, with a median of 292 days. State law now requires certain kits to be processed within six months, or 60 days in cases involving an unknown perpetrator and a public safety threat.
Toney has made crime lab efficiency a central attack in the rematch of the 2022 race, which Kaul won by roughly 35,000 votes. Kaul has framed the choice as continued progress on violent crime reduction versus what he calls political interference with the labs.
