Shelley Ann Grogan (born August 14, 1967) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

lawyer and judge, currently serving on the

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

in the Waukesha-based District II court. She previously served as a municipal judge in

Muskego, Wisconsin Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,135. Muskego is the fifth largest community in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Muskego has a large Norwegian population. The ...

Biography

Grogan received her bachelor's degree from

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

in 1989, and went directly into

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the professional graduate law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law ...

, where she earned her

J.D. JD or jd may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''JD'' (film), a 2016 Bollywood film * J.D. (''Scrubs''), nickname of Dr. John Dorian, fictional protagonist of the comedy-drama ''Scrubs'' * JD Fenix, a character from the ''Gears of War'' vi ...

in 1992. Early in her legal career, she worked as a

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

to three judges of the

, Ted Wedemeyer,

Ralph Adam Fine Ralph Adam Fine (February 14, 1941 – December 5, 2014) was an American judge, author, and television personality who served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 1988-2014. A former attorney for the United States Department of Justice, Fi ...

, and Rebecca Bradley. When Judge Bradley was appointed to 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 ...

in 2015, Grogan went with her as a judicial assistant. A resident of

Muskego Muskego () is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,135. Muskego is the fifth largest community in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Muskego has a large Norwegian population. The nam ...

for 25 years, she was appointed municipal judge in 2020. Less than a year later, she announced her candidacy for

. She defeated incumbent judge Jeffrey O. Davis in the April 2021 election with 55% of the vote. In addition to her judicial career, Grogan has worked as an attorney in civil litigation, and is an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.

2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

During the

2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. Milwaukee County circuit judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Wisconsin Supreme Court ...

, Grogan was an active and vocal supporter of conservative former justice Daniel Kelly in his campaign to return to the court. Grogan raised eyebrows when she used her perch in the Appeals Court to attack Kelly's conservative rival in the primary, judge

Jennifer Dorow Jennifer R. Dorow (' Evans; born 1970) is an American attorney from Wisconsin. She is a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Waukesha County, serving since 2011. She previously served as chief judge of the 3rd district of Wisconsin circuit courts ...

. Grogan overruled a sentence handed down by Dorow, called Dorow's sentence unlawful, and then reached out to a number of contacts in the legal community to point to her ruling in an attempt to embarrass and discredit Dorow. In response, conservative talk radio host

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

publicly questioned Grogan's judicial ethics. Reacting to Belling's criticism, Grogan then took the unheard-of step of tweeting out a justification for her court ruling—though she did not offer any justification for her subsequent attempt to advertise and politicize the ruling. Kelly ultimately prevailed in the primary but lost the general election to liberal candidate, judge

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, ...

. Grogan deleted her twitter account the day after the election.

Personal life

Judge Grogan married attorney Frederick J. "Rick" Smith in 1992. They had three children together before his death in 2009.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (2021)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 6, 2021

References

External links

*
Campaign websiteArchived March 27, 2021

Personal twitter (Archived October 13, 2021)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grogan, Shelley Date of birth unknown 1967 births Living people Marquette University alumni Marquette University Law School alumni Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges 21st-century American women judges