Daniel Overbey took an oath of office in front of family, friends and more than a dozen local judges Friday.
His investiture means Vilas County officially has two circuit court judges for the first time.
Overbey was elected to the second judgeship position in April. He says the position is badly needed.
“When we had one judge, we were rated for two judges, so judge Nielsen had been doing the work of two judges for 18 years,” Overbey explained. “There are tons of cases that we want to be able to get to quicker and dispose of faster. The faster we do it, the better it is for everybody.”
Because of this, he says his first priority as a circuit court judge is catching up on the backlog of cases.
After that, Overbey says his focus will be on establishing a county-wide drug court.
It’ll be modeled after the Lac du Flambeau Wellness Court, with a goal of providing more resources to people who struggle with addiction.
“It’s important because drugs are not just a problem in one part of our county,” Overbey said. “It’s a problem all of the county, it’s a problem all over the state, it’s a problem all over the country, but it is not just a problem in one part of our county. But right now, that’s the only place we’re addressing it.”
Overbey says he hopes to get the drug court up and running within the next year.
Overbey is the second Vilas County Circuit Court judge to be recently sworn in. Martha Milanowski took her oath less than a year ago.
