Brad Schimel (born February 18, 1965) is an American prosecutor and judge. He was the 44th

Attorney General of Wisconsin The Attorney General of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of Attorney General since statehood. The incumbent is Josh Kaul, ...

, serving from 2015 to 2019. He was defeated seeking re-election in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, and was subsequently appointed

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 cas ...

Judge in

Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha C ...

, by Governor Scott Walker. Prior to winning election as Attorney General, Schimel was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

of Waukesha County.

Early life and education

Schimel is a graduate of

Mukwonago High School Mukwonago High School is located in Mukwonago in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Mukwonago Area School District. Approximately 1700 students attend the school, which has over 150 staff members. The original buildi ...

, and holds a B.A. in political science from the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...

(1987). He earned his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

at 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 ...

in 1990.

Legal career

He began his career as a prosecutor in 1990, when he joined the Waukesha County District Attorney's office. In 2006 Schimel was elected Waukesha County District Attorney. He would be re-elected without opposition in 2008, 2010, and 2012. In 2011, Schimel was appointed to serve on the Wisconsin Judicial Council and the Wisconsin Crime Victim Council. Schimel is an instructor in the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Department at

Waukesha County Technical College Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) is a public community college in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The college has campuses in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Waukesha and Pewaukee, Wisconsin, Pewaukee. It is a member of the W ...

, and is a former adjunct instructor at

Concordia University Wisconsin Concordia University Wisconsin (CUW) is a private Lutheran university in Mequon, Wisconsin. It is part of the eight-member Concordia University System operated by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS). The university is a coeducational in ...

Attorney General of Wisconsin

On October 7, 2013, Van Hollen announced he would not seek reelection in 2014 for a third term as state attorney general. Van Hollen endorsed Schimel as his replacement. In the 2014 general election, Schimel defeated opponent Susan Happ. As Wisconsin Attorney General, Schimel appealed the ruling by a federal judge in the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (in case citations, E.D. Wis.) is a federal trial court of limited jurisdiction. The court is under the auspices of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, ...

that Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of

Making a Murderer ''Making a Murderer'' is an American true crime documentary television series written and directed by Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos. The show tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in pris ...

, had been coerced into confessing to a murder as an intellectually disabled 16-year old. Courts subsequently ruled either to free Dassey or block his release pending a new trial. Schimel argued that the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

should not hear Dassey's case; when the U.S. Supreme Court declined hearing Dassey's case, Schimel said he was pleased. Schimel also defended systemic

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

by the state's Republican legislature, which resulted in Republicans controlling 64% of the legislative seats although the state is almost equally divided in the popular vote. The

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (in case citations, 7th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the courts in the following districts: * Central District of Illinois * Northern District of Ill ...

rejected the state's most recent redistricting plan. Schimel petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017 to overturn that decision. In ''

Gill v. Whitford ''Gill v. Whitford'', 585 U.S. ___ (2018), was a United States Supreme Court case involving the constitutionality of partisan gerrymandering. Other forms of gerrymandering based on racial or ethnic grounds had been deemed unconstitutional, and wh ...

'' (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Wisconsin Republicans, allowing partisan gerrymandering to continue.

Career as state judge

In November 2018, after Schimel was defeated for reelection by Democratic candidate

Josh Kaul Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul (born February 2, 1981) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as the 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin since January 2019. Early life and education Kaul is the son of Pe ...

, Republican Governor Scott Walker (who had lost his own re-election bid to Democratic candidate

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers (born November 5, 1951) is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 200 ...

) appointed Schmiel to the

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

Circuit Court. The state Democratic Party criticized the appointment. Walker announced the appointment the day after Schimel conceded to Kaul. Walker passed over 13 applicants for the position to appoint Schimel; it is unclear whether Schimel submitted a formal application for the judicial vacancy. Schimel had submitted letters of recommendation for four other applicants for the job, including one of his campaign coordinators. In October 2020, Schimel was an emcee at an Ozaukee County Republican Party fundraising event, alongside

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...

and other Republican elected officials. This prompted criticism because Wisconsin state law states that judges must refrain from engaging in partisan political activity.Daniel Bice
Supreme Court chief justice banished Judge Brad Schimel from his own courtroom after he refused to wear mask
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (October 9, 2020).Daniel Bice
Judge Brad Schimel defends emcee role GOP event featuring Sen. Ron Johnson
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' (October 8, 2020). Schimel defended his appearance at the event. Schmiel also attended a Donald Trump rally at the

Waukesha County Airport 'Waukesha County Airport/Crites Field is a public use airport located two miles (3 km) north of the central business district of Waukesha, a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It is owned and operated by Waukesha County. I ...

later that month, although he "emphasized he was attending the rally as an individual and Trump supporter."Katherine Beck and Jake Ekdahl
Trump motivates voters at rally in Waukesha
''Greater Milwaukee Today'' (October 24, 2020). During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Schimel initially refused to wear a face covering while presiding in court, defying a statewide state court directive requiring the use of face coverings during in-person proceedings, as a measure to prevent the

transmission of COVID-19 The transmission of COVID-19 is the passing of coronavirus disease 2019 from person to person. COVID-19 is mainly transmitted when people breathe in air contaminated by droplets/aerosols and small airborne particles containing the virus. Infec ...

. After public defenders complained for months that Schimel's actions were putting litigants and counsel at risk, Schmiel was reprimanded by the chief judge of the 3rd Judicial District. Chief Justice

Patience Roggensack Patience Drake "Pat" Roggensack (born July 7, 1940) is an American attorney and jurist. She is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2003, and previously served as the 26th chief justice of the court from 2015 through April 202 ...

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 ...

, who is the head of the Wisconsin state court system, barred Schimel from presiding over cases in person due to his refusal to wear a face covering (or hold proceedings all remotely via

videoconference Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio signal, audio and video signals by people in different locations for Real-time, real time communication. ...

). The ban was lifted after Schimel agreed to wear a face covering in court.

Electoral history

Waukesha District Attorney (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, September 12, 2006 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 2006 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 2008 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 2010 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 2012

Wisconsin Attorney General (2014, 2018)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, August 12, 2014 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 2014 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, August 14, 2018 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 6, 2018

References

External links

Wisconsin Attorney General's Office

Schimel's campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schimel, Brad 1965 births 21st-century American politicians District attorneys in Wisconsin Living people People from Waukesha County, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin Attorneys General Wisconsin Republicans Wisconsin state court judges