Jennifer Dorow, the judge who presided over the Waukesha parade trial, considers a run for Wisconsin Supreme Court
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MADISON - Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow is considering a campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court after presiding over one of the most high-profile trials in state history, sentencing a man to hundreds of years in prison for killing six people and injuring scores more as he drove through a Christmas parade last year.
Dorow, 51, was appointed to the Waukesha County bench in 2011 by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker. She considers a run to replace retiring conservative justice Patience Roggensack, who is leaving the court this year setting up a battle for control of the court that conservatives hold a 4-3 majority.
Already in the race are former conservative Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, who was appointed to the court by Walker in 2016 and was defeated in his first election by liberal justice Jill Karofsky in 2020. Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, a former prosecutor and the presiding judge of the county's juvenile division, and Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a longtime assistant prosecutor, are also running for the seat as liberal candidates.
Voters will narrow the field to two candidates in a Feb. 21 primary ahead of the April 4 spring election.
Democrats and Republicans are putting a priority on the 2023 Supreme Court race as the court will play a key role in how lawsuits over the state's abortion law, the state's legislative and congressional maps, and the outcome of the 2024 presidential election are likely to be handled.
In 2020, the state's highest court blocked a slate of legal challenges from former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 21,000-vote victory by Joe Biden.
Trump announced Tuesday he is running for president in 2024. Since his 2020 loss, Trump has waged a baseless campaign against Wisconsin's election system, attempting to sow doubt in how votes are cast and tabulated in this battleground state he would need to win to earn another term as president.
Dorow considers a campaign after receiving national attention and praise over her handling of the trial of Darrell Brooks, whom she sentenced to six consecutive life sentences for each death he caused as he drove his SUV through a Waukesha Christmas parade in 2021 and more than 1,000 more years for the injuries resulting from the attack.
She received cards, letters, emails and even a telegram from dozens of states and a few other English-speaking countries, where people were watching a CourtTV livestream of the trial.
Dozens of people who watched the livestream of the 3 1/2-week trial wrote to congratulate Dorow on her patience, knowledge and demeanor while dealing with Brooks, who continually interrupted her and ignored her rulings while representing himself.
Dorow is a graduate of Marquette University and Regent University School of Law. She has been licensed to practice law in Wisconsin since 1996. She serves as the chief judge of the 3rd Judicial Administrative District.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha parade judge Jennifer Dorow considers state Supreme Court run
