The Sconi

Judge Jennifer Dorow of the Waukesha County Circuit Court, a state Supreme Court candidate, recently wrote in a Twitter post that she is excited to be a candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and sees it as an opportunity to continue the service she has done as a circuit court judge.

In her tweet, she shared a link to an article in the Waukesha Freeman about her presiding over the trial of Darrell Brooks, whom she sentenced to six consecutive life sentences in prison for driving an SUV through a Christmas parade in 2021. 

"Over the past decade, I've been honored to serve the people of Waukesha County each and every day as a circuit court judge. It's humbling to be recognized for the work that I've done, and I'm honored to be a candidate to serve on Wisconsin's Supreme Court," Dorow wrote in a Jan. 2 Twitter post.

Some critics have questioned whether Dorow is running for the Supreme Court to capitalize on the media attention she received during the trial. Reporting shows that Dorow's record as a judge includes drastically reducing the prison sentence of a man who was convicted of molesting his mentally disabled daughter.

In her tweet, Dorow shared a link to a Waukesha Freeman article that called Brooks' trial the "biggest story of the year for county." The article said that Dorow "at one point in the trial said it was the most challenging of her career. But her efforts were rewarded with cards, letters and well-wishes from around the world, thanking the judge for her efforts and offering compliments like 'rock star,' flowers and more." The article went on to note that Dorow's announcement of her Supreme Court campaign came just weeks after the trial concluded.

Dorow said she is not running for the state Supreme Court seat simply to capitalize on the exposure she got from the Waukesha parade attack trial, but others disagree, Channel 3000 reported.

“I’m struggling to think of any other reason that she would believe she would be a qualified candidate for the Supreme Court,” said Dan Kelly, another conservative running for the Supreme Court seat. Kelly said that Dorow is lacking a “track record of a scholastic and a serious approach to the law."

In 2013, Dorow presided over the trial of a 44-year-old Hartland man who was convicted of molesting his mentally disabled daughter, according to the Lake County Reporter. The man admitted to fondling the breasts of his 15-year-old daughter, who had the mental capacity of an 8-year-old, according to the complaint. The man said he molested his daughter because he thought it would bring the two of them closer together, but that he later saw that he was wrong. The daughter was placed in a foster home. The man could have faced 40 years in prison for second-degree child sexual assault, but Dorow said that amount of time in prison would be "inappropriate," because the molestation was an isolated incident and the man did not have intercourse with his daughter. Dorow instead chose to sentence the man to three years in prison and four years of extended supervision.

The state's Supreme Court primary election will take place Feb. 21, and the general election will take place April 4, PBS reported. In addition to Kelly, liberal circuit court judges Everett Mitchell of Dane County and Janet Protasiewicz of Milwaukee County are hoping to fill the open seat.