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Justice Bradley will finish her 30-year career with a two-month stint as chief, and then will be succeeded by Justice Jill J. Karofsky

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was elected by the Court today to serve as chief justice, effective May 1, 2025. She succeeds Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler in this role. Justice Bradley was first elected to the Court in 1995 and will leave the Court after serving three full 10-year terms on July 31, 2025. Justice Bradley has indicated she will step down as chief on June 30, 2025, after two months in the role.

"It is a tremendous honor to be elected by my colleagues as the leader of this great court," said Justice Bradley. "It has been my life's goal to honor the rule of law, enhance access to justice, and serve the 5.9 million people who call Wisconsin home. Serving as Chief Justice enables me to further those goals. The court system is full of wonderful staff and justices, from the circuit court to the appellate Court to our Supreme Court. So I deeply appreciate the opportunity to serve as the administrative head of this august institution."

"Justice Bradley deserves the accolades she is already receiving as she approaches the end of her tenure, and it is our privilege as a Court to be able to look to her leadership in this moment," said Justice Janet Protasiewicz. "I continue to appreciate her wise counsel, her collegiality, and her friendship every day, and I'm proud that she will have the opportunity to serve as Chief to cap a long, distinguished career of service."

In anticipation of Justice Bradley's retirement, the Court elected Justice Jill J. Karofsky to become Chief Justice as of July 1, 2025.

Justice Karofsky was elected to the Court in 2020 and will serve the remainder of the two-year Chief Justice term until April 30, 2027.

"I deeply appreciate the confidence my colleagues have placed in me, and I will continue to work respectfully with every member of this Court to ensure the administration of Court business is conducted in a fair and efficient manner," said Justice Karofsky. "The people of Wisconsin have great faith in this Court, and I intend to be a Chief that increases the people's confidence even further. I hope to be someone that every judge and staff person in the judicial system finds approachable, so we can continue to improve the service we provide in all 72 counties, keeping each of us safe and ensuring access to justice."

"Over the last seven years, I've had the chance to work so closely with Justice Bradley and Justice Karofsky, and I have the utmost confidence in their abilities to lead our Court system," said Justice Rebecca Frank Dallet. "This is the right time for each of them to lead, and I am looking forward to an era of increased transparency and accessibility for those who work in the judicial system as well as the general public. We all bring our strengths to the table, and I know that Justice Karofsky is the right person at the right time to lead this Court."

Pursuant to Article VII, Section 4 (3) of the Wisconsin Constitution, the chief justice of the Supreme Court is the administrative head of the judicial system and exercises administrative authority pursuant to procedures adopted by the Supreme Court. In this role, the chief justice works with fellow justices, the director of state courts, chief judges and other administrators to ensure the courts operate efficiently.

Biography of Justice Bradley

Justice Bradley began her judicial career as a circuit court judge in Marathon County. She was first elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1995, becoming the first woman in the state's history to join the Court by being elected rather than appointed to the position. She was twice re-elected in 2005 and 2015.

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is a native of Richland Center, Wisconsin. She was a high school teacher before entering the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she earned her law degree.

Continuing her interest in education, Justice Bradley has served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Judicial Academy and as an international lecturer for the Academy, the American Bar Association's Asia Law Initiative, the U.S. Department of State, and the International Law Development Organization. She also served as a state coordinator of iCivics, a civics education program founded by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, and as an Associate Dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College.

Currently, Justice Bradley serves as Chair of the Board of Managerial Trustees of the International Association of Women Judges and is a member of its Board of Directors. Among other organizations, she is an elected member of the American Law Institute as well as a member of the State Bar Bench-Bar Committee and the Board of Visitors of the UW Law School. Her previous service includes the Federal-State Judicial Council, Commissioner of the National Conference on Uniform Laws, Chair of the Wisconsin Rhodes Scholarship Committee, the Wisconsin Equal Justice Task Force, the Wisconsin Judicial Conference and the Wisconsin Judicial Council.

Justice Bradley and her husband, Mark, live in Wausau where they raised their four children.

Biography of Justice Karofsky

Justice Jill J. Karofsky was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2020, and served as a judge on the Dane County Circuit Court before that.

Prior to becoming a judge in 2017, Karofsky was the executive director of the Office of Crime Victim Services for the state Department of Justice. She previously served as an assistant state attorney general and Wisconsin's first Violence against Women Resource Prosecutor, an adjunct professor at the UW Law School, the general counsel and director of education and human resources for the National Conference of Bar Examiners, and as an assistant district attorney and deputy district attorney for Dane County.

Justice Karofsky has served on a number of boards and committees, including the Governor's Council on Domestic Abuse, the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, the Wisconsin Crime Victims Council, and the Dane County Big Brothers/Big Sisters Board of Directors. She previously co-chaired the Attorney General's Sexual Assault Response Team. She also has served on the Wisconsin Judicial Education Committee and chairs the Violence Against Women STOP Grant committee.

Karofsky earned her bachelor's degree from Duke University, her master's degree from UW-Madison, and her law degree from UW Law School. While at Duke, Justice Karofsky competed on the school's NCAA Division I cross-country and track teams.

Karofsky has received the "Outstanding Victim Advocacy by a Professional" award from the Wisconsin Victim/Witness Professional Association, the "Voices of Courage" award from the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the "Significant Impact Award" from the Dane County Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence.

Justice Karofsky is an ultra-marathoner and has completed multiple marathons, ultra-marathons and Ironman competitions. She resides in Madison and is the mother of two adult children.