Birdsall sets sights on better life for clients, public defenders.

Byline: Melody Finnemore

A moot-court exercise during eighth-grade social studies ignited John Birdsall's interest in the law.

"I remember slamming my hand down on the table and saying, 'No further questions!' and walking away. I enjoyed that immensely," he said.

Birdsall earned his law degree and was planning to obtain a doctorate in history when he began working for an investigator. He said he was enthralled by the work and knew he wanted to become a criminal-defense attorney.

"I appreciate the ability to breathe life into constitutional amendments about confessions, interrogations and other matters," Birdsall said "I can also help people who have no money and can't speak up for themselves, and they need protections."

For the past 10 years he has dedicated much of his time to dealing with a constitutional crisis that's affecting indigent defendants and private criminal-defense attorneys in Wisconsin. The state's compensation rate of $40 an hour for state public-defender appointments was the lowest in the country and was giving private attorneys almost no incentive to accept public defender appointments. As a result, defendants would find themselves lingering in jail for weeks awaiting counsel or having to attend court proceedings without counsel.

Birdsall responded by forming a coalition of lawyers, judges and bar leaders. In May 2017, the coalition filed a petition calling on the Wisconsin Supreme Court to raise the hourly rate of...