Jennifer R. Dorow (' Evans; born September 1, 1970) is an American attorney from

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. She is a Wisconsin circuit court judge in

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county (United States), 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 median income of $88,985 placed ...

, serving since 2011. She previously served as chief judge of the 3rd district of Wisconsin circuit courts (2017–2023). In 2022, she presided over the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr., the perpetrator of the

Waukesha Christmas parade attack On November 21, 2021, Darrell Edward Brooks Jr. drove a sport utility vehicle (SUV) through the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States, killing six people and injuring 62 others. Brooks pleaded not guilty to six counts ...

, which received national news coverage. Following that trial, Dorow ran for a vacant seat on the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

, but was eliminated in the

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

. Dorow also presided over the "Eye Drop Murder" case of Jessy Kurczewski, a woman that was charged with

First-Degree Intentional Homicide Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, ...

of a childhood friend. The case and trial received national news coverage, as it was aired for the public.

Personal life

Jennifer Dorow was born Jennifer Evans in 1970 and attended

Waukesha South High School Waukesha South High School is one of three high schools located in Waukesha, Wisconsin. It was opened in 1957 as a southern campus to Waukesha High School, then in downtown Waukesha. The downtown campus is now Les Paul Middle School – Central C ...

graduating in 1988. During her childhood, Dorow wanted to work as a television news reporter. Dorow received her bachelor’s degree from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

in 1992 and her J.D. from

Regent University School of Law Regent University School of Law is the law school of Regent University, a Private university, private Christianity, Christian university in Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was founded in 1986 and accredited by the American Bar Association in 1996. ...

in 1996. She has been licensed to practice law in Wisconsin since 1996. Dorow is an active member of the Republican Party in

. Dorow married Brian Dorow, a former dean of criminal justice at

Waukesha County Technical College Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC) is a public community college in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The main campus is in Pewaukee, with a satellite campus in downtown Waukesha. It is a member of the Wisconsin Technical College ...

, in 1998. Brian Dorow ran for the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

in 2010, and for the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

in 2015, but lost both races. During the Trump administration, he was named Assistant Secretary of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" to ...

for State and Local Law Enforcement. Dorow considers herself a devout Christian.

Career

Early career and judicial appointment

Dorow began working for the Waukesha District Attorney in 1996. In 2000, she became Waukesha County's assistant district attorney. She left that job in 2004 to become a defense attorney for a private firm run by Matthew Huppertz. In 2010, she became a partner in the firm, now called Huppertz & Dorow. In 2011, Dorow was appointed a

Wisconsin circuit court The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 9 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and crimina ...

judge in Waukesha County by Governor Scott Walker, to replace judge

Mark Gundrum Mark Gundrum (born March 20, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for District II. He previously served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1999 to 2010. Early life and educ ...

, who had been elevated to the Court of Appeals. She took office in February 2012. In 2012 and 2018, Dorow ran unopposed for reelection to this office. Dorow was selected as chief judge for the 3rd district of

Wisconsin circuit courts The Wisconsin circuit courts are the general trial courts in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. There are currently 69 circuits in the state, divided into 9 judicial administrative districts. Circuit court judges hear and decide both civil and crimina ...

by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2017, for a two year term, and was retained in that position in 2019 and 2021. The 3rd district comprises Dodge, Jefferson, Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha counties. As a judge, Dorow has claimed to follow a

textualist Textualism is a formalist theory in which the interpretation of the law is based exclusively on the ordinary meaning of the legal text, where no consideration is given to non-textual sources, such as intention of the law when passed, th ...

interpretation of the law and constitution. During this time, Dorow served on the Legislative Council Study Committee on Bail & Conditions of Pretrial Release. In 2021, Dorow presided over a carjacking and sexual assault case that occurred at the Waukesha Public Library. That same year, she presided over a case involving a juror who walked out of a case due to concerns regarding

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

precautions. Both of these cases received substantial local coverage.

Waukesha Christmas parade attack

In February 2022, Judge Dorow was selected as the presiding judge for the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack case after a vehicular attack that left six dead and dozens injured. This was the first case Dorow had presided over to receive national media attention. During the trial, the defendant, Darrell Brooks, made repeated attempts to disrupt the trial and present pseudolegal arguments based on

sovereign citizen ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

ideology. Brooks' behavior resulted in Judge Dorow repeatedly removing the former for failure to comply with rules of decorum. Brooks was ultimately found guilty of all 76 charges and sentenced to life without

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

by Judge Dorow. Dorow has been widely praised for her ability to preside over the trial and her conduct in the proceedings. This resulted in the court receiving a substantial amount of fan-mail from individuals from various countries and Judge Dorow being likened to a figure of female empowerment. Others have criticized her approach, believing that she was too lenient on Brooks' misbehavior.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidacy

On November 30, 2022, following the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack trial, Judge Dorow announced her candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The election was for the replacement of Chief Justice

Patience D. Roggensack Patience Drake "Pat" Roggensack (born July 7, 1940) is a retired American attorney and jurist. She served as the 26th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 2015 to 2021. Concurrently, she served for 20 years on the high court, from 2 ...

, who announced her retirement earlier in the year. In her candidacy announcement, Dorow cited the fan mail she had received, claiming that a large number of voters had asked her to run for office and claimed to be a "judicial conservative". A month before the nonpartisan primary, Dorow was hit with allegations that her 19-year-old son was an active drug dealer in Milwaukee, and that she had been aware of his activities. The information was revealed after the

fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...

overdose death of a

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

student, Cade Reddington, who had been a frequent customer of Dorow's son. Daniel Kelly and

Janet Protasiewicz Janet Claire Protasiewicz (; ; born December 3, 1962) is an American attorney and jurist from Wisconsin who has served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court since August 2023. Protasiewicz was elected to the court in the 2023 election, af ...

advanced to the general election, with Dorow coming in third place.

Political positions

Cash bail

During her time on the Legislative Council Study Committee on Bail and Conditions of Pretrial Release, Dorow was highly critical of

cash bail In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In book-keeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...

and called for its elimination. On January 29, 2019, she said: This comment, amongst others, drew criticism from conservative talk show host

Mark Belling Mark Belling (born July 4, 1956) is an American former conservative talk radio host for 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is also a local newspaper columnist, former television host, and was a frequent guest host for Rush Limbaugh in the e ...

who accused Dorow of "consistently defend ngthe lenient bail decisions made by court commissioners". In 2022, Dorow was still critical of cash bail, but when asked about eliminating cash bail, she instead supported proposed constitutional amendments that would give judges greater discretion in setting bail.

''Lawrence v. Texas''

Dorow has previously been critical of the ''

Lawrence v. Texas ''Lawrence v. Texas'', 539 U.S. 558 (2003), is a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, United States Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that U.S. state laws Sodom ...

'' ruling, believing that the Supreme Court ruling overstepped the powers given by the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. In her 2011 application to become a judge, Dorow referred to the ruling as prime example of judicial activism at its and that went well beyond the four corners of the U.S. Constitution to declare a new constitutional

Electoral History

Wisconsin Circuit Court (2012–present)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 2012 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 2018 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 2, 2024

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2023)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, February 21, 2023

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorow, Jennifer 1970 births 21st-century American women judges Living people Marquette University alumni People from Waukesha County, Wisconsin Regent University School of Law alumni Wisconsin circuit court judges Christians from Wisconsin 21st-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American women lawyers