Judge Rebecca Dallet announced today that she will be a candidate for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court in 2018. Judge Dallet was elected to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2008, and re-elected in 2014, after serving as Presiding Court Commissioner. She previously worked for 11 years as a prosecutor, in both state and federal court.
“I’ve spent more than two decades fighting to ensure justice for the people of our state, and now I am ready to bring my experience and commitment to working for Wisconsin’s families on the State Supreme Court,” said Judge Dallet. “I have the right experience to return independence and balance to what has become an increasingly partisan Supreme Court.”
Before winning election to the bench, Dallet worked to put sexual predators behind bars in Ozaukee, Washington, and Milwaukee Counties, and prosecuted drug, gun, and violent crime cases in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s office. She both tried cases and wrote and argued in appellate court.
Judge Dallet has served as presiding judge for both the domestic violence and misdemeanor courts, and has also heard cases in gun court, homicide/sensitive crimes court, drug court, and civil court.
“I know the challenges and the problems Wisconsin families face,” said Judge Dallet. “I have spent my career, first as a prosecutor, and now as a judge, working to make our community safer.”
Judge Dallet currently trains judges nationwide as a faculty member for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and teaches in Wisconsin as Associate Dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College. She is a former adjunct professor of law at Marquette University Law School. Judge Dallet serves as president of the Milwaukee Trial Judges Association, and as secretary of the Association for Women Lawyers. She formerly served as a member of the Supreme Court Judicial Education Committee, and was recognized as a Women in the Law Honoree by the Wisconsin Law Journal during her first term on the bench.
“In our courts, I see the challenges our neighbors face every day: I see moms like me working two jobs, but still not able to make ends meet,” said Judge Dallet. “I see families losing their homes when a family member gets sick and the medical bills stack up. I see victims of violent crime, especially in our poorest neighborhoods, struggling to find a way as guns, drugs, and gangs devastate their community. I see people trying to get their lives back on track, but stuck in a criminal justice system that needs reform. And I see an opioid crisis which requires all of us to work together to find solutions.”
Judge Dallet graduated summa cum laude from both Case Western Reserve University School of Law and Ohio State University. In the community, she has won the Pasch Meritorious Service Award for her work with youth, and received recognition from the White House Project’s Women Rule! program.
“Our courts and our election system need to be held to the highest standard of independence,” said Judge Dallet. “We need a strong recusal rule, and we need judges who will ensure that bias is removed from the courtroom. It’s time for the era of special interest influence to end.”
Judge Dallet is married to Brad, who is a partner at Husch Blackwell, and they have two daughters in public school and a third daughter in college. The election for Supreme Court will be held April 3, 2018, with a primary election to be held on February 20, 2018.