Judge Derek Mosley has retired from the bench but now works at Marquette University Law Center. He is originally from Chicago and came here to go to school at Marquette University. Later he was an Assistant DA for seven years for Milwaukee County. The municipal court has three judges that handle cases. Judge Louis Butler decided he was leaving and the Common Council appointed Mosley to the position. He ran and won three times after that. There are over 200 municipal courts in the state. They normally handle noncriminal matters for traffic, parking and ordinance incidents. This would include first-time drunken driving offenses and license revocation. In addition juvenile matters like truancy, underage drinking, drug offenses and curfew violations.
Judge Mosley states that MPS got rid of driver’s education a while back and he thinks that hurt kids learning how to safely drive. Now it cost up to $500 dollars at the private driving companies in the city. The kids families cannot afford this as 90% of them qualify for reduced and free lunches. MPD drive and the Milwaukee Urban League have programs to try and help. The Judge states in his court many times the kids would say I don’t need a license to drive. Over one-half of the people stopped for reckless driving do not have a valid driver’s license. He attempted to help people get their driver’s license back when he was still on the bench. They would show up at a church and promise to pay off their fines to get their licenses back. But eventually many would stop paying and not get their license back.
Judge Mosley states he “did all he could from the bench to help, and now he wants to help change laws to help people”. I asked what he thinks about the two new proposed laws in Madison to try and deal with reckless driving. One law would up the fines for reckless driving and a second would make it easier to tow cars from these offenses. He states I think both laws will help somewhat. The driver has to own the car, so wouldn’t work if they are driving someone else’s car. Red light cameras would also help with so many people running these lights. You need a license and insurance to buy a car. But some of these smaller car places will sell them to you regardless.
Judge Mosley states in his current role at Marquette University they want to talk with people in the community. Want to learn from someone else. Help to solve the problems in the community. One way to do this is something called Heritage dinners where people meet and learn about different foods that we all eat. A soul food gathering was held in February and in May an Asian food event will be held. Theses food events are very popular and sell out pretty quickly. Talking about the history of these foods and other culture issues helps make a stronger bond among people. The judge continues to do great work for the community and city.
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