Jill Karofsky
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Assumed office
August 1, 2020
Preceded byDaniel Kelly
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Dane Circuit
Branch 12
In office
August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2020
Preceded byClayton Kawski
Succeeded byChris Taylor
Personal details
Born
Jill Judith Karofsky

(1966-07-15) July 15, 1966
Middleton, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Jason Knutson
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2017)​
Children2
EducationDuke University (BA)
University of Wisconsin, Madison (MA, JD)
WebsiteCampaign website

Jill Judith Karofsky (born July 15, 1966) is an American attorney who has served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 2020.[1] Karofsky served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Dane County from 2017 until her 2020 election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[2]

Jill Karofsky was born on July 15, 1966, in south-central Wisconsin to Judy Karofsky, a former Middleton, Wisconsin, city council member and the city's mayor from 1975 to 1977, and her then-husband Peter Karofsky, a pediatrician.[2] Karofsky was a state tennis champion while at Middleton High School, where she graduated in 1984. She later played Division I sports for Duke University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1988. Karofsky received her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1992.[3][4] She married attorney Jason Knutson in July 1998, though they later divorced.

Karofsky entered civil service as a deputy district attorney for Dane County.[3] She has also served in the Wisconsin Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General working as Wisconsin's Violence Against Women resource prosecutor, and later leading the Office of Crime Victim Services.[5][6]

Judicial career

In 2017, Karofsky was elected as a judge on the Dane County Circuit Court, beating municipal judge Marilyn Townsend by 15 points.[7]

Three years later, Judge Karofsky challenged incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin's 2020 election.[8] Kelly had been appointed to the Supreme Court by Republican then-Governor Scott Walker in 2016 and was endorsed by President Donald Trump.[9] Judge Karofsky was endorsed by over 100 current and former Wisconsin judges, including incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet. She also received endorsements from U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, former governor Jim Doyle, and former U.S. senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl.[10] In the final days before the election, Judge Karofsky was endorsed by both the remaining 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary candidates—former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.[11][12]

The election set a spending record for any Wisconsin Supreme Court race, with the two candidates raising a collective $10 million.[13] During the campaign, Karofsky was the target of television attack ads funded by supporters of her opponent Daniel Kelly. The ads falsely claimed Karofsky, as deputy district attorney, struck a plea deal with a man charged with sexual assault of a minor resulting in no jail time.[14] Karofsky was not placed on the case as a prosecutor until a year after the deal was struck. On March 27, 2020, Karofsky's campaign announced intent to file a cease and desist order against the ads.[15][16] On April 6, 2020, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Timothy Witkowiak blocked Karofsky's injunction against the ads on the grounds of unlawful prior restraint.[17] The nonprofit fact checking site PolitiFact included the false claims against Karofsky it its yearly "Pants on Fire" review for 2020.[18]

On April 13, 2020, Judge Karofsky was declared the winner of the election, taking roughly 55% of the vote.[1] She took office on August 1, 2020, and became the ninth woman in Wisconsin history to serve on the state's high court.[19][20] Karofsky's upset election has been cited by Tom Perez, the Democratic National Committee Chair, as being indicative of the results of the 2020 presidential election.[21]

In keeping with her marathon hobby, on August 1, 2020, Judge Karofsky was sworn into office following the thirty-fifth mile of an "ultramarathon," by Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet in a ceremony also attended by former governor Jim Doyle. She then ran another sixty-five miles.[22][23]

2020 Presidential election cases

Karofsky voted with the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to dismiss several of Donald Trump's appeals as he sought to challenge the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Wisconsin. As a result, she and Judge Rebecca Dallet, who also voted with the majority, were attacked in print and on social media with antisemitic and misogynistic comments and threats.[24] The attacks prompted the chief justice, Patience D. Roggensack, to issue a statement condemning the threats.[25]

Personal life

A single mother of two children (a son and a daughter), Karofsky lives in Madison, Wisconsin.[26] She is a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete.[27]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Circuit Court (2017)

Wisconsin Circuit Court, Dane Circuit, Branch 12 Election, 2017[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election, April 4, 2017
Nonpartisan Jill J. Karofsky 50,585 57.54%
Nonpartisan Marilyn Townsend 37,110 42.21%
Various Write in candidates 218 0.25%
Plurality 13,475 15.33%
Total votes 87,913 100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2020)

  Karofsky 40–60%
  Karofsky 60–70%
  Karofsky 70–90%
  Kelly 40–60%
  Kelly 60–70%
Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 2020[29][30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Primary Election, February 18, 2020
Nonpartisan Daniel Kelly (incumbent) 352,876 50.04%
Nonpartisan Jill J. Karofsky 261,783 37.13%
Nonpartisan Ed Fallone 89,184 12.65%
Various Write in candidates 1,295 0.18%
Total votes 705,138 100.0%
General Election, April 7, 2020
Nonpartisan Jill J. Karofsky 855,573 55.21%
Nonpartisan Daniel Kelly (incumbent) 693,134 44.73%
Various Write in candidates 990 0.06%
Plurality 162,439 10.48%
Total votes 1,549,697 100.0%

References

  1. 1 2 "Wisconsin State Supreme Court". Decision Desk HQ. Archived from the original on 2020-04-11. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  2. 1 2 "About Jill". Jill for Justice. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Jill Karofsky". ACLU of Wisconsin. February 5, 2020. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Hon. Jill J. Karofsky Lawyer Profile on Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ Lueders, Bill (March 25, 2020). "Cover Story | Supreme decision". Isthmus. Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  6. ↑ Milwaukee, Urban. "AG Schimel Appoints Experienced, Award-Winning Prosecutor to Lead Office of Crime Victim Services". Urban Milwaukee. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
  7. ↑ Treleven, Ed (April 5, 2017). "Jill Karofsky bests Marilyn Townsend for Dane County judge". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  8. ↑ Marley, Patrick (March 30, 2020). "Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Kelly and Karofsky is another partisan fight -- but at a time like no other". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Donald J. Trump on Twitter: "Wisconsin, get out and vote NOW for Justice Daniel Kelly. Protect your 2nd Amendment!"". 2020-04-07. Archived from the original on 2020-04-07. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  10. ↑ "Endorsements". Jill for Justice. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  11. ↑ Glauber, Bill (April 3, 2020). "Joe Biden endorses Jill Karofsky for state Supreme Court while Donald Trump reaffirms backing of Daniel Kelly". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  12. ↑ Marley, Patrick (April 2, 2020). "Karofsky gets Sanders' endorsement in Supreme Court race after criticizing Kelly for getting Trump's backing". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  13. ↑ Marley, Patrick. "Candidates and groups spent more than $10 million on Wisconsin Supreme Court race, a record amount". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  14. ↑ "Ads attack Jill Karofsky over sexual assault sentence, but she wasn't even involved". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  15. ↑ Conniff, Ruth (March 27, 2020). "Karofsky campaign issues cease and desist letter over misleading ads". WisconsinExaminer.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  16. ↑ Vielmetti, Bruce (January 30, 2020). "Wisconsin Supreme Court justice accuses challenger of slander, demands apology at heated election forum". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 17, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2020.
  17. ↑ Vielmetti, Bruce (April 6, 2020). "Judge denies Jill Karofsky's bid for an injunction blocking Daniel Kelly TV ads in Supreme Court race". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Pants on Fire in Review 2020 -- Wisconsin". PolitiFact. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  19. ↑ "Wisconsin Legislature: Chapter 751". docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Archived from the original on 2018-04-28. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  20. ↑ Epstein, Reid J. (2020-04-13). "Jill Karofsky Wins Wisconsin Supreme Court Race in a Boost for Liberals". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  21. ↑ Martin, Jeffery (2020-04-13). "DNC Chair says Judge Karofsky winning Wisconsin's SC race should "terrify" Trump given GOP "voter suppression efforts"". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2020-04-14. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  22. ↑ Redman, Henry (July 27, 2020). "Karofsky to be sworn in during 100-mile run". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  23. ↑ Marley, Patrick (August 1, 2020). "A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice was sworn in after she ran 35 miles. Then she started running another 65". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  24. ↑ Conniff, Ruth (December 17, 2020). "Anti-Semitic, misogynist attacks on Wisconsin Supreme Court justices after Trump ruling". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  25. ↑ Ahmad, Shanzeh (December 25, 2020). "State Supreme Court Chief Justice releases statement expressing concern over recent threats". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  26. ↑ Lueders, Bill (2020-02-06). "Supreme consequences". Isthmus. Retrieved 2020-04-13.
  27. ↑ "Ultra-runner, Supreme Court nominee: Jill Karofsky, not just a role model for the girls". WKTY. 6 April 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-03.
  28. ↑ Canvass Results for 2017 Spring Election - 4/4/2017 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. April 18, 2017. p. 2. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  29. ↑ Canvass Results for 2020 Spring Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. February 18, 2020. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2020. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  30. ↑ Canvass Results for 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote - 4/7/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. May 4, 2020. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
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