Who We Are

Badger Freedom Fund is a volunteer-run nonprofit founded in 2022 by a group of defense attorneys and community advocates. 

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Who We Serve

We assist with bond funding for non-violent individuals in Northeast Wisconsin:  Brown, Outagamie, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette, Oconto, Shawano Counties. We hope to expand our service area as we grow. 

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Why Bail Funds Help

Defendants held before trial are also susceptible to pressure to accept plea bargains, as they are desperate to be released. See Bowers, Josh. 2008. “Punishing the Innocent.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 156:1117-79.
Numerous studies have shown that pretrial detention often increases an individual’s chance of conviction—in part, due to a greater number of plea deals, many of which are likely wrongful convictions. See Dobbie, Will, Jacob Goldin, and Crystal Yang. 2018. “The Effects of Pre-Trial Detention on Conviction, Future Crime, and Employment: Evidence from Randomly Assigned Judges.” American Economic Review 108(2):201-140. See also Gupta, Arpit, Christopher Hansman, and Ethan Frenchman. 2016. “The Heavy Costs of High Bail: Evidence from Judge Randomization.” The Journal of Legal Studies 45(2): 471-505.

For a Wisconsin-specific story, please see Wisconsin Watch: Poor stay in jail while rich go free: Rethinking cash bail in Wisconsin