Governor Walker announced on October 9 he will appoint District I Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca Bradley.
Gov. Walker announced he would take applications to fill the vacancy on the court, and that applications would be due October 2. District I Court of Appeals Judge Rebecca Bradley jumped into the race to fill Justice Crooks’ spot when he retired in 2016. Milwaukee County Judge Joe Donald, and District IV Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg have also joined the race for the Supreme Court Seat.
The Supreme Court primary election will be held on February 16, 2016, and the general election will be April 6.
Judge Rebecca Bradley was appointed to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals by Governor Scott Walker in May 2015. She previously served as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge since 2012, winning her first election in 2013. Judge Bradley would be the first to bring judicial experience on both the trial court and intermediate appellate court benches to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Before answering a calling to public service, she practiced law for over 16 years.
Born and raised in the City of Milwaukee, Judge Bradley graduated from Divine Savior Holy Angels High School and then attended Marquette University where she earned an Honors Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Business Economics in 1993. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1996.
Judge Bradley began her legal career as an attorney with the law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson, where she represented physicians in malpractice lawsuits and defended individuals and businesses in product liability and personal injury litigation and appeals. She moved to the firm of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, where she concentrated her practice in commercial, information technology and intellectual property litigation and transactions, co-chaired the firm’s Technology Law Group, and worked as an American Arbitration Association Arbitrator. Judge Bradley also served as Vice President of Legal Operations for an international software company.
In 2012, Judge Bradley was recognized as one of Milwaukee’s Leading Lawyers in Litigation, Business Law, and Internet Law by M Magazine. In 2010 she received the Women in Law Award from the Wisconsin Law Journal and was named a “Rising Star” Attorney on the 2010 and 2008 Wisconsin Super Lawyers list.
A leader in the legal community, Judge Bradley served as Chairman of the State Bar’s Business Law Section and co-authored the Wisconsin Business Advisor Series chapter on Internet law. She continues to serve on the Wisconsin State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and on the Board of Governors of the St. Thomas More Lawyers Society.
Judge Bradley also served as President of the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society, an organization founded on the principle that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be.
Devoted to her community, Judge Bradley volunteered her services as an attorney to families of developmentally disabled youth in guardianship proceedings. She continues to serve on the Board of the Milwaukee Tennis & Education Foundation, which provides opportunities for central-city children to play tennis, improve academic performance and develop life skills and values. In 2012, Judge Bradley completed a six-year term with the Milwaukee Forum, a diverse group of leaders whose dialogue and involvement is designed to enhance greater racial understanding and improve the well-being of the Milwaukee community. Judge Bradley serves as a member of the Comprehensive Approaches to Youth who have been Sexually Exploited or CAYSE Committee, and continues to speak out in the community on the evil of human trafficking.