MEET JANET
Judge Janet Protasiewicz is a community leader, a veteran prosecutor, and a lifelong advocate for victims of crime.
In nearly a decade as Circuit Court Judge, she has earned the respect of the community, developing a reputation for being fair and impartial.
Raised in a working-class family, Judge Protasiewicz worked her way through college and law school as a waitress and nonprofit administrator. She earned her bachelor’s degree at UW Milwaukee and her law degree at Marquette University, where she later served as an Adjunct Professor of Law. Before being elected to the bench, she served more than 25 years as Assistant District Attorney, where she prosecuted serious crimes, and successfully argued in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Throughout her career, Judge Protasiewicz has been deeply involved in the community. She has served on the boards of the Association of Marquette University Women, the American Red Cross-Wisconsin Chapter, the Polish Heritage Alliance, and Marquette University Law School Alumni Association. She belongs to the Association of Women Lawyers, TEMPO, Professional Dimensions, Serjeants Inns of Court, Foley Inns of Court, and Fairchild Inns of Court.
Judge Protasiewicz’s work has been recognized throughout the state. In 2017 she received the Community Involvement Award from the Association of Women Lawyers, and in 2018 the Wisconsin Law Journal presented her with the Women in the Law Women of Influence Award.
Judge Protasiewicz has been elected to the bench twice without opposition. She currently serves in Family Court and has also presided over homicide, sexual assault, misdemeanor, domestic violence, and drug courts. She and her husband, Gregory Sell, live in Franklin.
A LETTER FROM JANET
Hi. I’m Judge Janet Protasiewicz, and I’ve spent more than 35 years in the law, defending the rights of victims, protecting children, and upholding the law, and I see our criminal and civil justice system — and our democracy — under attack by radical partisanship.
Our system works because the law is predictable. You can read the constitution, the statutes, and case law, and know what to expect, but as we can see on an almost-daily basis, our most closely-held constitutional rights are under attack by radical right-wing extremists.
For almost my entire life, the constitutional right to privacy has been settled law. We know it’s not up to the government to decide who we can or can’t love. We know the 2020 election resulted in Joe Biden’s election. We must restore confidence that judges aren’t just trying to reach their favored outcomes, but actually applying the law and the constitution.
But at both the state and federal levels, too many Supreme Court justices are seemingly ignoring the law to impose their own views. In Wisconsin, this has played out through more and more cases being taken by our Supreme Court when they shouldn’t, resulting in unjust outcomes that are not supported by the law.
It’s time for our state Supreme Court to stop acting like a political body and uphold the constitution and the law. They should only take cases on original jurisdiction in the rarest of circumstances. And they need to stop coming up with tortured and convoluted reasoning to reach their favored outcomes.
I’ve got simple Wisconsin values. If you break the law, you should be held accountable. If you work hard and play by the rules, the government should leave you alone. And if your rights are violated, you should get a fair shot to demand justice.
I’m running to restore integrity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and get politics out of the courtroom. I hope I can earn your vote in April of 2023, and I look forward to meeting you on the campaign trail.
