(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Kenosha, Wis. – Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Chad Kerkman (D) has once again found himself overruled by a higher court. On January 22, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals reversed a ruling made by Kerkman in a child custody case, marking yet another instance in which his decisions have been overturned—spanning cases from homicide convictions, public records cases, and even termination of parental rights.
In the latest reversal, the Court of Appeals sided with a father, known by the pseudonym “Tyrone,” who contested a dispositional order transferring custody of his daughter, Serena (also a pseudonym), to the Kenosha County Division of Children and Family Services. The circuit court, presided over by Judge Kerkman, had ruled to place the child in foster care following a jury verdict that determined she had been neglected by her parents.
Key Issues on Appeal
Tyrone’s appeal raised three primary arguments: (1) the circuit court erred in denying his request for judicial substitution; (2) the court improperly admitted certain evidence at trial; and (3) the jury’s verdict lacked sufficient supporting evidence.
While the Court of Appeals declined to address the latter two arguments, it ruled decisively on the judicial substitution matter, reversing Kerkman’s decision and remanding the case for a new trial before a different judge.
A Procedural Mishap or Judicial Overreach?
During the initial plea hearing in September 2023, Tyrone’s attorney submitted a request for substitution of judge. However, due to procedural confusion, the request was left unsigned—Tyrone had been removed from the hearing for disruptive behavior before he could sign it, and his attorney had been granted permission to withdraw. The court commissioner overseeing the hearing nevertheless confirmed that the request was “in the proper form” and “timely filed.” Despite this, Judge Kerkman denied the substitution request the following day, citing the missing signature as the reason.
Two weeks later, Tyrone attempted to rectify the situation by requesting to sign the paperwork, but no further action was taken by the court to allow him to do so. The case proceeded to trial before Judge Kerkman, ultimately resulting in the ruling that Serena be placed in foster care.
Court of Appeals Finds Error
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals firmly rejected the state’s argument that Tyrone had failed to preserve the substitution issue for appeal. The court determined that, under state law, the trial judge should not have denied the request outright without affording Tyrone an opportunity to correct the omission. The Court of Appeals further noted that the state failed to refute Tyrone’s arguments, effectively conceding that an error had been made.
As a result, the appellate court reversed the dispositional order and remanded the case for a new trial before a different circuit court judge.
A Pattern of Reversals
Judge Kerkman’s legal decisions have frequently faced scrutiny, with multiple rulings overturned on appeal. Critics argue that his pattern of reversals raises concerns about judicial competence and fairness in his courtroom. Legal analysts suggest that the repeated overturning of his rulings may indicate a failure to adhere to proper judicial procedures, potentially affecting the lives of countless individuals who come before his bench.
Adding to the controversy, Judge Kerkman was recently appointed as Deputy Chief Judge of Kenosha, Walworth, and Racine counties by the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court. This appointment has drawn criticism from those who question his judicial record and the frequency with which his decisions have been overturned.
With this latest ruling, the case of Tyrone and Serena is set to be retried under new judicial oversight, a decision that underscores the importance of due process and proper legal protocol in the Wisconsin judicial system.
As Kenosha County continues to grapple with contentious legal battles and appeals, all eyes remain on the judicial record of Judge Kerkman—and whether his rulings will continue to stand the test of higher court scrutiny.
53 Responses
Now report on Jodi next. No reasonable judge would have done what she did – per the Appeals court.
Oh that’s right, she’s your buddy.
Settle down Samantha, your still getting child support!!!!
You’re free to start your own perfectly fair newspaper. I’ll be the blue one over here holding my breath.
Chad is the smartest person in a room of one. Thinks very highly of himself. https://rumble.com/v6jncga-gold-revaluation-coming-dont-be-fooled-again-ranch-updates.html?e9s=src_v1_mfp
You’re still a turd
You push turds
good comeback deadbeat
Your mom doesn’t think I am
your uncle touched you and it shows
everyone else does
So where does one turn when someone who’s already in over his head is promoted? Other than making him governor, of course.
Wait for Soros to give him one million dollars, like he just did for Crawford, and run as the democrats choice for Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Soros is cia fool
Fool or tool ?
I wonder who the GAL was on this case? There is one in particular in Kenosha that needs all her cases reopened and investigated. Might be something to look into Kevin..
Do you mind sharing who? I am sure others could add to your comment…
I think the GAL info should be in this article. Clearly, there was one assigned and he/she may have impacted Kerkman’s decision.
This is a closed case in information is not available to the public or the media. There is no way for anybody who is not a party to know who the GAL was
Actually…
GALs are a “party” to the case and it is public record.
CCAP lists Mary Losey as GAL in this case. Not sure if the link will work but you can look up the Appeals case on CCAP and she is listed as under Interested Parties.”
Ya welcome! 🤗
https://wscca.wicourts.gov/caseDetails.do?caseNo=2024AP002057&cacheId=203A46A40EC9DB022188F6D43524F298&recordCount=1&offset=0.
This is a “JC” case. I now see that she was the GAL. If this case was never appealed, the public wouldn’t have known this.
There is a way to find out GALs for active cases, even if the proceedings are private.
You can do a search via the Attorney search option. It can be done ONLY if there is an upcoming court date. You have to check all the GALs’ calendars until you find the particular case you are looking for. But if you know the next court date, you can figure it out pretty quickly. If you only have a case number, you have to look for that case number as you look at the GALs’ upcoing court dates.
The search can take a bit longer but it can be done even with JC, TP, and GN cases.
Attorney search lets you see 7 days at a time so you can quickly zip through the upcoming dates.
Soon as I saw the name Kerkman I ran to the comments…. Bound to be some crooked shit going on with that name in Kenosha county!!!
oh yeah, between him and his ex, the corruption abounds
He has to be removed but then he gets promoted and proves the court system is broken.
Gzzzzz… hasn’t that nazi Gabriel had several cases overturned as well? What is going on in the court house ? Do these judges just do as they see fit regardless of law and know it’s going to go to threw the appellate process and be overturned,but get there way during this lengthy process ? Sure seems that way ….time to put the breaks on this wild west mentality that they have
The appeals court better keep an EYE on Kerkman.
What GAL is it? Seems over the years several need to be taken of the GAL list. And Kerkman, this guy in no way, shape, ir form belongs on any case, let alone a case to do with kids. His decisions in no way seem to be in the best interest of any child. He’s done some damage to kids with his “personally motivated” decisions. How he is still behind the bench is crazy. But it seems quite a few in the system do not give a crap about kids. They keep churning out decisions that cause it’s more harm than good. And it seems they ignore what is in a child’s best interest more often than not. Pretty sad for kids.
1000000000000% agree. Looks like a good story Kevin
They used to send GAL surveys out to litigants when the case was done. When a survey is returned the judges get a copy. They might still be sending surveys out but if not, they were until last year. I bet there are copies in someone’s filing cabinet.
Should make all thise survey public AND include surveys for family court judges. They need to follow that best interest of the child doctrine. Seems they think history of drugs, drug dealing, neglect, abuse, criminal behaviors, emotional harm, etc are all in a child’s best interest. They in no way look at what’s best for a child, they force a child/children to be with parents that are unfit. They like to keep the cycle going. To them children are chattel.
Chad is Kenosha area Lawyer’s best friend. His constant screw ups give local attorneys more work that clients are charged for to rectify. In the end, Chad is often the source of a second round of victims being victimized.
Absolutely. The damage he has done to some kids is terrible because he refuses to follow law, logic and what is best for the child. He’s a disgrace, should not be behind the bench.
No wonder Sam kicked him to the curb.
Wondering how many other things he can’t do right.
Someone should ask T. Binger…
LMAO, not like she can do anything right either.
Multiple area attorneys have told me that Kerkman favors men in his cases and that women should take a substitution of judge if he gets assigned to their cases.
I have a friend whose ex got away with all sorts of bs stuff. My friend gave up and her kids dad hasn’t even seen his child in over a year.
This guy should be dog catcher not judge. Who is he to judge anyone!
Here is the link for the Kenosha County GAL list. Let’s comment on the experiences, or lack thereof, we had with them.
https://www.kenoshacounty.org/120/Guardian-Ad-Litem
McIntosh just collects money without doing her job.
She doesn’t subpoena visitation records for parents trying to regain custody of their children, and puts them in a bad position in court.
She also doesn’t educate herself about the situation between parents. I’ve had a bad experience with her too.
She prides herself on having a good relationship with other attorneys. She is not a person you want in your corner, especially when she is more concerned about being cut out of her lunch bunch.
Isn’t Kerkman Berg’s boy? 😉
I never got a GAL survey.
Maybe they stopped giving them out as these GAL’S are pathetic at their jobs. When you see best interest of child, history of drugs and alcohol should cause loss of custody/placement, etc. ignored, they all need to be removed and replaced with oeople who actually look out for kids. They are contributing and enabling these parents and turning their backs on kids. Sometimes a parent just should never be around a kid. And kids should not be forced to have placement with unfit parents.
Agreed. GALs should be social workers, not attorneys. There is a reason why they are mostly inept. The “requirements” to become a GAL are minimal, at best.
Chad, Chad, Chad
We
Know
U
Can
Do
Better.
Please try.
I I wonder if this has anything to do with graduating from a Wisconsin school so you don’t have to take the bar the exam ?
Corruption is not a virtue
Judge Schroeder’s decisions were reversed countless times, and yet the members of the appellate court attended his farewell meeting. He was the best judge we had. He was the only one with guts enough not to follow the dictates of the establishment and allow young Kyle to have a due right to defense at trial. Any other judge back then would, by default, agree with the DA and find him guilty before the trial.
Speaking from personal experience the family division of kenosha court is a fucking joke from top to bottom! Our GAL was the biggest clown I had ever seen with an attorney license! He had no knowledge of anything pertaining to the case…was never prepared and sometimes had the wrong file or thought he was there for a different case. Wonder whatever happened to him? Oh wait I remember- the governor appointed him to be a judge when somebody retired mid term! Fat slob Jason rosselle
Unfortunately this comment seems to come from a spitfull person. Children need both parents in their lives as children love their parents and are hurt by those that choose to deviate from this researched based findings. If a parent has done something that removes them from their children’s lives there are steps to reunite child and parent as our court system provides. A gal, judge, attorneys see the worst sides of human nature in family cases where to spit the other parent takes precedence over children’s best interests. We as a people should be glad they even show up and try to do their jobs. And yes everyone makes mistakes thats why there are steps in place for parents, judges and everyone else in between to be corrected and with time learn from the mistakes. Where the problem lies is those that choose day in and day out to intentionally sabatoge children’s relationship with their parents and that’s what has life long affects on those involved. Be nice to one another the children are watching. A kenosha high school principal once said daily to practice peace. How many of us actually do?