Joan F. Kessler

A native of Louisiana,[1] Kessler graduated from the University of Kansas in 1966 and from Marquette University Law School in 1968.[2] She worked as a law clerk for United States District Judge John W. Reynolds, Jr., in Milwaukee from 1968-69 before entering private practice.[1][2] Kessler was a supporter of Jimmy Carter's candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976; in 1978, Carter appointed her United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.[1]

As United States Attorney, Kessler received praise for her performance in court and her open-door policy toward criminal defense attorneys,[3] but clashed with Milwaukee City Attorney James Brennan over her investigation into the Milwaukee Police Department's hiring and promotion practices.[4] She resigned in March 1981, following Carter's 1980 defeat to Ronald Reagan, and entered private practice with the Milwaukee firm Foley and Lardner.[5] Kessler specialized as a divorce attorney at Foley and Lardner and was eventually selected as a partner in the firm.[6]

In 2004, Kessler challenged incumbent Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Charles B. Schudson for his seat on the court's Milwaukee-based District I.[6][7] The campaign was hotly contested; Kessler's campaign alleged that Schudson had committed several violations of judicial ethics, charges he vehemently denied; Schudson later levied ethics allegations against Kessler.[7][6] Kessler unseated Schudson in the April general election, but was not cleared of ethical wrongdoing until 2010.[8]

Kessler has participated in several notable cases during her tenure as an appellate judge. In December 2014, she authored a decision affirming the conviction of Kelly Rindfleisch, deputy chief of staff to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker when he served as Milwaukee County Executive.[9] In July 2015, Kessler wrote a concurring opinion in a decision reinstating Milwaukee's employee residency rules, which had been voided by a Milwaukee County circuit judge.[10]