ANTIGO — The Wisconsin Victim and Witness Professionals Association presented Langlade County District Attorney Kelly Hays with an honorable mention award for her victim advocacy at its 2024 Crime Victim Service Awards Ceremony May 9.
The association gives out the award annually to one district attorney in the state. Hays missed out on winning by one vote, according to Langlade County Victim Witness Coordinator Kelly Allen, who works closely with Hays and nominated her for the award.
Hays said she was more honored by Allen nominating her than by actually receiving the award, but nonetheless went on to explain a deep responsibility she feels when prosecuting cases in which individuals have been victimized.
“Ultimately, the thing that’s important to me is that these victims are going through traumatic points in their lives,” Hays said. “On any given day, this is one in fifty cases I handle or something along those lines, but for these victims, this could be the most life-changing thing that’s happened to them. It’s upsetting, it’s terrifying, it can be frustrating. And so trying to help them through this process is incredibly important to me.”
Allen said she nominated Hays because of her tireless work on behalf of the county’s crime victims, work which she said often goes underappreciated.
“At times, this can be a thankless job,” Allen said. “When you’re a victim and you’ve been victimized, you’re never going to get and see the justice that you specifically have a perception of wanting. If someone was to harm your family, it might be your wish to want harm to come to that defendant, but the justice system just isn’t going to match what the victim feels would be justice.”
One persistent recent problem of the local court system has been its sometimes-glacial pace, caused chiefly by a backlog of cases which could not move forward during COVID lockdowns. Hays, according to Allen, has treated victims dissatisfied with that and other issues with empathy.
“It is such a long, sometimes frustrating process that they endure. No one wants these cases to take as long as they do, and the passion for what the victims have experienced is felt,” Allen said. “But Kelly is warm and caring to the victimizations that occur and sensitive to the victims, and she strives for a fair outcome. Kelly has a passion for victims, to see that they receive justice for their victimization. I have witnessed firsthand the dedication that she has given to victims, especially in highly-emotional, complex, challenging cases such as child sexual assault and homicide.”
In her nomination letter, Allen also described Hays’ harrowing transition into the head district attorney position in late 2022, when she also happened to be several months pregnant.
“Two of our three attorneys had vacated their positions in our office,” one excerpt reads. “Assistant district attorney Hays managed not only our office, but single-handedly prosecuted the overwhelming backlog of cases. February of 2023 was when our next significant trial occurred, which just happened to be the first intentional homicide tried in Langlade County in many years. This was the State vs. Goplin trial. On the morning of this trial, ‘ADA Hays’ was sworn in as district attorney for her very first homicide trial.”
Last Friday, Allen and other courthouse employees held a surprise potluck for Hays in honor of her award.
“I had known that I had received the honorable mention, but the celebration that they planned on Friday was an absolute surprise and extremely nice of my staff, as well as other people that we work with that attended,” Hays said. “They even got my husband and my one year old in on it, and I had zero clue, so they kept the secret as well.”
Allen said the recognition for the load Hays shoulders for the county — which now includes over 1,000 open felony, misdemeanor, and traffic cases — is well-deserved.
“We wanted to give her a moment and say, ‘We know this can be a really thankless position, but we recognize your effort,’” Allen said. “Even though the public does not always understand that we’re doing the absolute best we can with what we have, it is recognized by her office and others from the courthouse.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0