Janet Claire Protasiewicz
2023 - Present
2033
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Janet Claire Protasiewicz is a judge of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She assumed office on August 1, 2023. Her current term ends on July 31, 2033.
Protasiewicz ran for election for judge of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She won in the general election on April 4, 2023.
Biography
Janet Protasiewicz lives in Franklin, Wisconsin. Protasiewicz earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in 1985 and a juris doctor from Marquette University in 1988. Her career experience includes working as an assistant district attorney with Milwaukee County, on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, and as an adjunct law professor with Marquette University Law School. Protasiewicz has served on the boards of the Association of Marquette University Women, the American Red Cross-Wisconsin Chapter, and the Polish Heritage Alliance.[1][2]
Awards and associations
According to a 2013 press release, Protasiewicz was affiliated with the following organizations:[3]
- Member, Wisconsin Bar Association
- Member, Milwaukee Bar Association
- Member, Association of Women Lawyers
- Member, Marquette University Law School Alumni Board
- Member, Fairchild Inns of Court
- Member, Association of State Prosecutors
- Member, Rotary Club of Milwaukee
- Board member, Basilica of St. Josaphat Foundation
- Fellow, Wisconsin Law Foundation
Elections
2023
See also: Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2023
General election
General election for Wisconsin Supreme Court
Janet Claire Protasiewicz defeated Daniel Kelly in the general election for Wisconsin Supreme Court on April 4, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Janet Claire Protasiewicz (Nonpartisan) | 55.4 | 1,021,822 |
 | Daniel Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 44.4 | 818,391 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 3,267 | ||
| Total votes: 1,843,480 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Supreme Court
Janet Claire Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly defeated Jennifer Dorow and Everett Mitchell in the primary for Wisconsin Supreme Court on February 21, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Janet Claire Protasiewicz (Nonpartisan) | 46.4 | 446,403 |
| ✔ | | Daniel Kelly (Nonpartisan) | 24.2 | 232,751 |
 | Jennifer Dorow (Nonpartisan) | 21.9 | 210,100 | |
 | Everett Mitchell (Nonpartisan) | 7.5 | 71,895 | |
| Total votes: 961,149 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.
Campaign finance
This section contains campaign finance figures from reports submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission in this election. It does not include information on spending by satellite groups. Click here to access the reports.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[4][5]
If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.[6]
Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.
Click here to search independent expenditures reported to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
Spending news
- On March 20, The Hill reported that Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund would spend $500 thousand to run an ad opposing Kelly.[7]
- On March 15, The New York Times reported that Protasiewicz' campaign spent $9.1 million in the three weeks leading to March 15. Satellite groups supporting Protasiewicz spent more than $2 million.[8]
- On March 8, 2023, WisPolitics reported that the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Issues Mobilization Council would spend $3.2 million to run an ad opposing Protasiewicz statewide.[9]
Endorsements
Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.
This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.
| Noteworthy endorsements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Endorser |  Daniel Kelly | Janet Claire Protasiewicz
|
| Government officials | ||
| U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) source | ✔ | |
| U.S. Sen. Ronald Harold Johnson (R) source | ✔ | |
| U.S. Rep Gwen Moore (D) source | ✔ | |
| U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D) source | ✔ | |
| Frmr. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) source | ✔ | |
| Judge Jennifer Dorow source | ✔ | |
| State Sen. Dianne Hesselbein (D) source | ✔ | |
| Justice Jill Karofsky source | ✔ | |
| Judge Everett Mitchell source | ✔ | |
| Justice Patience Drake Roggensack source | ✔ | |
| Justice Annette Ziegler source | ✔ | |
| Dane County Supervisor Andrew Schauer source | ✔ | |
| Individuals | ||
| Frmr. Lt. Governor Mandela Barnes source | ✔ | |
| Frmr. Gov. James Doyle source | ✔ | |
| Frmr. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder source | ✔ | |
| Organizations | ||
| End Citizens United source | ✔ | |
| Human Rights Campaign PAC source | ✔ | |
| NARAL Pro-Choice America source | ✔ | |
| People for the American Way source | ✔ | |
| Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin source | ✔ | |
| Wisconsin Education Association Council source | ✔ | |
| Wisconsin Laborers' District Council source | ✔ | |
February 21 primary
- Click here to view endorsements made ahead of the Feb. 21 primary
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2020)
General election
General election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 24
Incumbent Janet Claire Protasiewicz won election in the general election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 24 on April 7, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Janet Claire Protasiewicz (Nonpartisan) | 99.1 | 125,239 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 1,121 | ||
| Total votes: 126,360 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2014
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2014
Protasiewicz ran for election to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She won without opposition in the general election on April 1, 2014. [17]
2013
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2013
Protasiewicz ran for election to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She advanced from the primary on February 19, 2013.[18] She was defeated by incumbent Judge Rebecca Bradley in the general election on April 2, 2013, 53% to 47%.[19]
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Janet Claire Protasiewicz did not complete Ballotpedia's 2023 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign ads
| March 19, 2023 |
| March 19, 2023 |
| March 9, 2023 |
View more ads here:
Noteworthy events
Wisconsin Supreme Court finds state legislative maps in violation of the state constitution (2023)
Justice Janet Claire Protasiewicz sided with the majority opinion on this case. In a 4-3 decision on Dec. 22, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the state’s legislative maps violated the state constitution and ordered the state to draw new maps for the 2024 elections. The justice wrote the following in their majority opinion:[20]
| “ |
We hold that the contiguity requirements in Article IV, Sections 4 and 5 mean what they say: Wisconsin's state legislative districts must be composed of physically adjoining territory. The constitutional text and our precedent support this common-sense interpretation of contiguity. Because the current state legislative districts contain separate, detached territory and therefore violate the constitution's contiguity requirements, we enjoin the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current legislative maps in future elections ... Because we enjoin the current state legislative district maps from future use, remedial maps must be drawn prior to the 2024 elections.[21][22] |
” |
The original petitioners argued that Wisconsin’s legislative districts violated multiple provisions of the state constitution, including equal protection, freedom of speech and association, separation of powers, and contiguous legislative districts. The state's legislative maps were ordered to be enacted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in April 2022 after the governor vetoed them and the state legislature failed to override that veto.[20]
Articles:
State supreme court judicial selection in Wisconsin
- See also: Judicial selection in Wisconsin
The seven justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court are elected in statewide nonpartisan elections. Judges serve ten-year terms, and to remain on the court, they must run for re-election after their term expires. Only one seat may be elected in any year, and more than two candidates for each seat must file to have a primary.[23][24]
Qualifications
To serve on the supreme court, a judge must be:
- licensed to practice law in Wisconsin for a minimum of five years immediately prior to election or appointment[25]
Chief justice
The chief justice of the court is selected by peer vote for a term of two years.
Vacancies
In the event of a vacancy on the court, the governor has the power and duty to appoint an individual to the vacancy. The governor screens judicial applicants using an advisory council on judicial selection. The council recommends three to five candidates to the governor, although the governor is not bound by their recommendations. The appointed justice must then stand for election in the first subsequent year in which no other justice's term expires.[24][23][26]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
See also
External links
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Footnotes
- ↑ University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee: The College of Letters & Science, "The view from the bench: History alum lays down law," March 20, 2017
- ↑ Janet for Justice, "Meet Janet," accessed May 1, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Protasiewicz announces candidacy for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 24," November 8, 2013
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ Amee LaTour, Email correspondence with the Center for Responsive Politics, August 5, 2022
- ↑ The Hill, "Gun safety advocacy group launches $500K ad targeting Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin judicial race," March 20, 2023
- ↑ The New York Times, "In Wisconsin, Liberals Barrage Conservative Court Candidate With Attack Ads," March 15, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Wisconsin Supreme Court race spending tops $24 million," March 8, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Wisconsin’s Supreme Court race already most expensive in U.S. history," February 28, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Women Speak Out PAC: America’s leading pro-life group commits six figures in support of Daniel Kelly for Supreme Court," February 14, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "WED PM Update: Spending in SCOWIS primary tops $5 million," February 8, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Fair Courts America: Launching TV ad in Wisconsin supporting Dan Kelly," February 2, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Kelly to face Protasiewicz in state Supreme Court race," February 21, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Fair Courts America: Launches large radio ad in Wisconsin supporting Dan Kelly," January 25, 2023
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Fair Courts America: Statement on upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race," November 17, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 SPRING ELECTION - 4/1/2014," archived April 11, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Rebecca Bradley, Janet Protasiewicz advance out of Branch 45 circuit court primary," February 19, 2013
- ↑ Wisconsin Elections commission, "2013 Spring Election," archived February 15, 2017
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Democracy Docket, "Wisconsin Legislative Redistricting Challenge (Clarke)," accessed January 2, 2024
- ↑ Supreme Court of Wisconsin, "Case No. 2023AP1399-OA," accessed January 2, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection," accessed August 12, 2021
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Wisconsin State Legislature, "Wisconsin Constitution," accessed September 19, 2014 (Article VII, Section 4: pg.10) Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "section4" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "Wisconsin Constitution," accessed September 19, 2014 (Article VII, Section 24: pg.11)
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "8.50 - Special elections," accessed April 19, 2023
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
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