Third Branch eNews

The April 4 Spring Election will bring one new Supreme Court justice, two new Court of Appeals’ judges and 11 new circuit court judges to the bench Aug. 1.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet C. Protasiewicz will transition to a 10-year term on the Supreme Court after defeating former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly.

Protasiewicz was first elected to the circuit court in 2014 and was re-elected in 2020. She currently serves in family court and previously served in the county’s homicide, sexual assault, misdemeanor, domestic violence, and drug treatment courts. Prior to becoming a judge, Protasiewicz served as a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney for 26 years. She holds a bachelor’s degree from UW- Milwaukee and a law degree from Marquette University Law School, where she has also served as adjunct professor of law. Kelly was a justice from 2016 to 2020 and is now a private practice attorney.

Protasiewicz will take the seat of Justice Patience Drake Roggensack, who did not seek-re-election. Roggensack is retiring July 31, at the end of her second 10-year term on the Court.

Roggensack served as a Court of Appeals’ judge from 1996 to 2003, when she became the state’s first Court of Appeals judge elected to the Supreme Court. She was re-elected in 2013, and became the state’s first chief justice elected by a vote of the Court in 2015. She was twice re-elected chief justice and served in that position until 2021, when current Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler was elected to serve in the role.

“I look forward to working with Justice-elect Protasiewicz on the Supreme Court, and I want to recognize Justice Roggensack for her invaluable service to the court system and the state of Wisconsin. Justice Roggensack has been a true leader and role model. The Wisconsin Judiciary has benefitted greatly from her work,” Ziegler said.

Before taking the bench, Roggensack worked in private practice for 16 years in state and federal courts.

District I

Milwaukee private practice Atty. Sara J. Geenen defeated incumbent Court of Appeals Chief Judge William W. Brash III, for a judgeship on the District I Court of Appeals. Judge-elect Geenen has worked in labor and employment law for about 16 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from UW-Madison and a law degree from the UW Law School.

Brash was first appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2015 and elected in 2017. He previously served as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge for 14 years, and as a municipal court judge for 12 years. He worked in private practice prior to his appointment to the circuit court in 2001.

District IV

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Chris L. Taylor ran unopposed for a six-year term on the District IV Court of Appeals seat held by retiring Judge Michael R. Fitzpatrick. Taylor has served as a circuit court judge since her appointment in 2020. She previously served as a state representative, worked as a public policy director and as an attorney in private practice.

Fitzpatrick has served on the Court of Appeals since 2017. He previously served as a Rock County Circuit Court Judge from 2008 to 2017 and as an attorney in private practice.

Clark County, Branch 2

Atty. William Bratcher, who has a practice based in Thorp, defeated Atty. Jake Brunette for newly created Branch 2 judgeship. Bratcher has a law degree from UW Law School and has practiced in the Clark County area for more than 12 years.

Grant County, Branch 1

Grant County District Attorney Lisa A. Riniker, who has held that office since 2005, defeated reserve judge and former Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer L. Day for the seat to be vacated by retiring Judge Robert P. Van DeHey. Day had served on the Jefferson County bench from 2009 to 2018.

Oneida County, Branch 1

Oneida County District Attorney Michael W. Schiek, who has held that office since 2002, defeated incumbent Judge Mary Roth Burns. Prior to serving as district attorney, Schiek worked 10 years in private practice. Roth Burns was appointed in April, 2022 to fill the vacancy created by Judge Patrick F. O’Melia’s retirement.

Sheboygan County, Branch 2

Sheboygan Area Municipal Court Judge Natasha Lynn Torry defeated Atty. James A. Haasch for the seat to be vacated by retiring circuit court Judge Kent R. Hoffman. Torry, a Wisconsin Law Foundation Fellow, has been a municipal judge since 2015. Hoffman was first appointed in 2016 and elected in 2017. He previously served as an assistant district attorney and as a state public defender.

Sheboygan County, Branch 5

Atty. George Limbeck defeated attorney Cassandra Van Gompel for the seat currently held by Judge Daniel J. Borowski, who did not seek reelection. Limbeck has a private practice in Sheboygan and holds a law degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis, Missouri. Borowski was first appointed in 2016 and elected to the bench in 2017. He previously worked as an attorney in private practice.

Vernon County Circuit Court

Vernon County District Attorney Timothy J. Gaskell, who has held that office since 2002, defeated attorney Angela Palmer-Fisher for the seat to be vacated by retiring Judge Darcy J. Rood. Rood was elected in 2017 and previously worked as an attorney in private practice, as an attorney for the City of Baltimore’s Department of Human Services and Maryland Office of Attorney General.

Washington County, Branch 1

Incumbent Circuit Court Judge Ryan J. Hetzel defeated Atty. Russ Jones to win a six-year term on the Branch 1 bench. Hetzel was first appointed in June 2022 to fill the vacancy created by Judge James G. Pouros’s resignation. Hetzel previously worked as an attorney in private practice from 1997 to 2022 and has a law degree from Marquette University Law School.

Waukesha County, Branch 7

Former State Rep. Cody Horlacher of Mukwonago defeated incumbent Judge Frederick J. Strampe. Horlacher, who had represented Assembly Dist. 33, is a private practice attorney and previously served as an assistant district attorney in Walworth County. Strampe was appointed to the bench in November 2022 and previously worked in private practice.

Winnebago County, Branch 2

Incumbent Judge Scott C. Woldt defeated former Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge LaKeisha D. Haase. Woldt was first appointed in 2004. He was elected in 2005 and previously reelected in 2011, 2017. Haase had previously served as a circuit court judge from 2021 to 2022 after being appointed to the bench by Gov. Tony Evers.

Wood County, Branch 4

Private practice Atty. Timothy Gebert defeated Wood County District Attorney Craig Lambert for the newly created Branch 4 bench. Gebert has a law degree from Michigan State University Law School and served as a judicial clerk for the 26th Circuit Court of Michigan before working in private practice.

Manitowoc County, Branch 4

Manitowoc County District Attorney Anthony Lambrecht was elected to serve in the newly created Branch 4. Lambrecht has been a prosecutor in Manitowoc County for about 4 years and previously worked as a staff attorney for the Manitowoc office of the State Public Defender for seven years.

Sawyer County, Branch 2

Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Government Atty. Monica M. Isham was unopposed for the newly created Branch 2 bench. Isham will become the first woman and first Lac Courte Oreilles tribal member to serve as judge in Sawyer County Circuit Court. Prior to her work for the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Isham worked as an attorney in private practice. She holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School.