Brad Schimel

Brad Schimel (born February 18, 1965) is an American prosecutor and judge. He was the 44th Attorney General of Wisconsin, serving from 2015 to 2019. He was defeated seeking re-election in 2018, and was subsequently appointed Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, by Governor Scott Walker. Prior to winning election as Attorney General, Schimel was district attorney of Waukesha County.

Schimel is a graduate of Mukwonago High School, and holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1987). He earned his Juris Doctor at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1990.

He began his career as a prosecutor in 1990, when he joined the Waukesha County District Attorney's office. In 2006 Schimel was elected Waukesha County District Attorney.He would be re-elected without opposition in 2008, 2010, and 2012.

In 2011, Schimel was appointed to serve on the Wisconsin Judicial Council and the Wisconsin Crime Victim Council.

He is a founding member of the Waukesha County Victim Impact Panel for intoxicated drivers, and president of the Preventing Alcohol-Related Crashes (PARC) Task Force, 2004-11.

Schimel is an instructor in the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Department at Waukesha County Technical College, and is a former adjunct instructor at Concordia University Wisconsin.

On October 7, 2013, Van Hollen announced he would not seek reelection in 2014 for a third term as state attorney general. Van Hollen endorsed Schimel as his replacement. In the 2014 general election, Schimel defeated opponent Susan Happ.

As Wisconsin Attorney General, Schimel appealed the ruling by a federal judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin that Brendan Dassey, one of the subjects of Making a Murderer, had been coerced into confessing to a murder as an intellectually disabled 16-year old. Courts subsequently ruled either to free Dassey or block his release pending a new trial. Schimel argued that the United States Supreme Court should not hear Dassey's case; when the U.S. Supreme Court declined hearing Dassey's case, Schimel said he was pleased.

Schimel also defended alleged gerrymandering by the state's Republican legislature, which resulted in the GOP controlling 64% of the legislative seats although the state is almost equally divided in the popular vote. The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected the state's most recent redistricting plan. Schimel petitioned the United States Supreme Court in 2017 to overturn that decision and said, "...our redistricting process was entirely lawful and constitutional, and the district court should be reversed." However, Trevor Potter, a former Republican chairman of the Federal Election Commission and president of the Campaign Legal Center, objected, and wrote: "The threat of partisan gerrymandering isn't a Democratic or Republican issue; it's an issue for all American voters."

Waukesha District Attorney (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012)

Wisconsin Attorney General (2014, 2018)