Ann Walsh Bradley (born July 5, 1950) is a justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 1995 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2015. She previously served ten years as a

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal case ...

judge in

Marathon County, Wisconsin Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,013. Marathon County's seat is Wausau. It was founded in 1850, created from a portion of Portage County. At that time the cou ...

Biography

Justice Bradley was born in

Richland Center, Wisconsin Richland Center is a city in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States that also serves as the county seat. The population was 5,114 at the 2020 census. History Richland Center was founded in 1851 by Ira Sherwin Hazeltine, a native of Andover, Ve ...

. She earned her bachelor's degree in 1972 from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. She worked as a high school teacher at Aquinas High School in

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

, before entering the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the professional graduate law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in ...

, where she earned a J.D. degree in 1976. Justice Bradley worked in private law practice until she was appointed judge of the

Wisconsin Circuit Court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 10 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and criminal case ...

in Marathon County in 1985. Justice Bradley is an elected member of the

American Law Institute The American Law Institute (ALI) is a research and advocacy group of judges, lawyers, and legal scholars established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of United States common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. ...

, a former associate dean and faculty member of the Wisconsin Judicial College, a former chair of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, a Democrat and a lecturer for the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of acad ...

's Asia Law Initiative.

Wisconsin Supreme Court tenure

Bradley was first elected to the Court in 1995, and re-elected in 2005 and 2015. Her current term expires July 31, 2025. Bradley has indicated she will run for another ten-year term in 2025. If she serves to the end of that term, she would become the second longest-serving justice in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

2011 Conflict with Justice Prosser

On June 13, 2011, Bradley had a confrontation with Justice David Prosser Jr. which allegedly became violent. Prosser, Bradley, and all other justices besides Patrick Crooks were informally discussing the next day decision that would overturn Judge Sumi's ruling on the

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

law in Bradley's office. There are different accounts as to what occurred. According to Bradley, the discussion became heated after Bradley asked Prosser to leave her office and said she was bothered by his disparaging comments towards Chief Justice

Shirley Abrahamson Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson (December 17, 1933December 19, 2020) was the 25th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. An American lawyer and jurist, she was appointed to the court in 1976 by Governor Patrick Lucey, becoming the first femal ...

. Prosser allegedly then put his hands around Bradley's throat in what was described as a

choke hold A chokehold, choke, stranglehold or, in Judo, shime-waza ( ja, 絞技, translation=constriction technique) is a general term for a grappling hold that critically reduces or prevents either air (choking)''The New Oxford Dictionary of English'' ( ...

. Prosser himself said that these reports will be proven to be false. According to other anonymous sources, Bradley attacked Prosser. "She charged him with fists raised," the anonymous source said. Prosser "put his hands in a defensive posture," the anonymous source said. "He blocked her." In doing so, the anonymous source said, he made contact with Bradley's neck. Justice Prosser denied he choked Bradley saying "Once there's a proper review of the matter and the facts surrounding it are made clear, the anonymous claims made to the media will be proven false." Justice Bradley stated that Prosser had choked her: "The facts are that I was demanding that he get out of my office and he put his hands around my neck in anger in a chokehold." Neither Prosser nor Bradley faced criminal charges from the incident. The state Judicial Commission has told its special prosecutor not to pursue new avenues to forward its ethics case against Prosser.

2015 reelection campaign

On April 7, 2015, Bradley was reelected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeating Rock County Circuit Court Judge James P. Daley.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1986, 1992)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1986 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1992

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1995, 2005, 2015)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Nonpartisan Primary, February 21, 1995 (top two) , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 4, 1995 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 5, 2005 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 2015

References

External links

Justice Ann Walsh Bradley biography on Wisconsin State Supreme Court
* The 118-pag
police dossier on the July 13 incident
released in August 2011, a word-searchabl
70-page version
that only includes the interview reports, an
12 pages of the most relevant excerpt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Ann Walsh People from Richland Center, Wisconsin 1950 births Living people Wisconsin state court judges Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Webster University alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin Democrats 20th-century American judges 21st-century American judges 20th-century American women judges 21st-century American women judges