Why do some people get out on bond? La Crosse County’s district attorney hosting series on how cases are prosecuted

Several high-profile court cases have been shown live on TV in recent years, giving people a real-life look at how crimes are handled by the justice system.

La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke is preparing to teach people about how cases are prosecuted in a three-part series next month called the Citizen Prosecution Program.

Gruenke talked about the series to begin a recent La Crosse Talk PM on WIZM with host Rick Solem, which can be heard below.

La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk PM wherever you get your podcasts.

Some questions might be “explain the bond system and why some people get out on bond, why some people don’t,” Gruenke recently said on the show. “We go through why some people are sentenced to more prison than others, and some not at all.”

The sessions will be held 6-8 p.m. Jan. 21 and Jan. 28 and Feb. 4 at La Crosse’s Fire Station No. 4 (map). A limit of 20 participants. Applicants must be at least 18 years old or have parental permission.

Download the application form here:

Applications are due Jan. 6 to [email protected] or drop them off at the district attorney’s office in the La Crosse County Courthouse and Law Enforcement Center.

Gruenke said the sessions are designed to address certain questions about the courts that come up repeatedly.

People can “learn what it’s like to be a prosecutor,” Gruenke said, “and learn about the job, and the system, and why do we have the sentences we do, why do people get out on bond the way that they do.”