(File Photos by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Kenosha, Wis. – Kenosha County Eye (KCE) is sharpening its investigative focus on the Kenosha judiciary, a move prompted by growing concerns over judicial accountability and transparency. KCE has, at times, been critical of the Kenosha County Circuit Court judges, who, in a unique rotation system, oversee all areas of law. Currently, Judges Anthony Milisauskas, Angelina Gabriele, Jason Rossell, and Gerad Dougvillo handle criminal cases, while Judges Jodi Meier, Chad Kerkman, David Wilk, and Heather Iverson preside over family law, civil disputes, juvenile cases, Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), and Children in Need of Protection and/or Services (CHIPS) matters.
Despite the significant authority these judges wield, few mechanisms exist to hold them accountable for errors or misconduct that negatively impact lives. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals, the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, and the media serve as the primary oversight bodies. However, with traditional local newspaper fading, KCE sees itself as one of the last remaining watchdogs in Kenosha County.
Historically, judicial elections in Kenosha have remained uncontested. Veteran attorney Terry Rose, who has practiced law in Kenosha County for nearly 60 years, notes that no elected sitting judge has faced an election challenge in six decades that he can recall. An unwritten rule among local attorneys discourages them from running against incumbent judges, effectively making these judges elected for a lifetime. This lack of electoral competition, KCE argues, undermines the democratic process and allows the justice system to operate without sufficient scrutiny.
KCE’s intensified focus on the judiciary draws inspiration from 19th-century journalist and muckraker Ambrose Bierce. Bierce, who moved to San Francisco in 1866, became a well-known author and critic, famously writing The Devil’s Dictionary. Through his column, The Town Crier, he routinely exposed corruption in politics, law enforcement, and the judiciary. The late Marquette Law Professor J. Gordon Hylton described Bierce as “one of the best-known men of letters of his day as well as an influential journalist who wrote vigorously on an array of contemporary issues. On the subject of the legal profession and the system of justice it administered, Bierce had nothing favorable to say.”
In this spirit, KCE pledges to hold Kenosha County judges accountable, ensuring that those entrusted with upholding justice, including procedural law, remain fair, transparent, and answerable to the public. While some judges have earned respect and admiration, KCE acknowledges that even the most diligent can make mistakes. With a renewed commitment to judicial oversight, KCE aims to bring attention to both commendable and questionable practices within Kenosha County’s legal system.
Stay tuned as KCE continues its investigative reporting, providing the public with the information necessary to demand accountability from those who serve on the bench.
45 Responses
Judges need to be held accountable if they stray from adhering to law and make decisions on their own opinions or “experiences”. Too many children, for example, have lost their lives, are exposed to drugs, those addicted to them and those dealing them, which endangers them physically and emotionally. The best interest of a child includes a parents history of drugs, alcohol being cause for liss of placement and custody, yet is constantly ignored by these judges. Kids are neglected, used, some have to care for the parent or themselves at a young age because of drugs and alcohol. It continues a cycle, because children learn what they live, and being allowed to be exposed to this makes them think it is acceptable. And judges ignore that very thing, a history of drug use and alcohol use. They force children to live with it, be around it. Same with criminal behaviors, neglect or abuse. And it does effect those kids, but they and GAL’S seemingly ignore what can be detrimental to kids.
Same with allowing criminals on the streets with 3 or more crimes,and more being committed. They tend to enable crime it seems, rather than sentence them as our laws require. Victims are further victimized with the lack of justice. Prosecutors assist this it seems, they choose not to prosecute to the fullest extent on many cases.
These judges need to be held accountable and removed if they cannot do their jobs properly. This lax system, not following laws or guidelines as written, is long past being acceptable.
Agreed. Most local GALs need to be investigated, as well. There needs to be accountability on all fronts. Glad Kevin is shaking things up.
me too! Thank you, Kevin!!!
Who are they to judge anyone!
Judges are Prosecutor’s in robes. I just read these writings. Many don’t know the law and easily convict on assumption.
Once again Kevin is proving his “Value” in our community.
In a way No Other Person Does !!
Where else out there ? can you find this in-depth information and scrutiny of our legal system ?
So if you have a mind to, and you feel that this information has value to you and you can afford to, please go to the bottom of this page and press that Donate button Now !
Kevin Never has asked us for anything !
Yet we ask him all the time to look into this and look into that. And he does.
For that he Deserves Our Support !!
There is donation area at the bottom area of the site where we can him out with all the good investigations.he.does.
Agree. No one else is willing to expose the corruption and treachery
These corrupt henchmen of the rigged system are traitors
This is great, but you really need to conduct an in-depth investigation of the county health department. You will be amazed at what you find.
Omg i just saw on data republicans website that Kenosha Community Health Center got $14MILLION from federal grants (https://datarepublican.com/award_search/?keywords=Kenosha)
Where’d it all go??
Starting with Mark Melotik, an overpaid piece of garbage.
Some are so dirty they belong in prison with Bubba as a cellmate. Please don’t forget to include slimy lawyers as well!
💯
Thank you for being the only real journalist left in this god forsaken town!
Jodi Meier especially needs to be looked into.
Second that!
Third!!!
She’s one of his sources. He won’t.
Sad if true
Still hasn’t denied it
Family court can destroy lives. I knew someone that was forced to pay 50% of gross income to an ex-spouse as “maintenance” which was deducted from net income. When asked why overtime which is not guaranteed was included as income, Judge Wilbur Warren (now retired) told the person that’s not his problem and that the person should learn to cut back on the $800 per month he had left to live on. The person ended up living in a pickup and showering at work. It’s always fun to observe lawyers on both sides laughing it up in the halls like old friends after court. Some go to court and get screwed yet others get it easy. The problem is the law is rarely applied equally.
The family court is a multi billion dollar a year industry with the attorneys and judges being the only winners.
They are all golfing friends that rob people of their hard earned money. Then they become politicians.
One call
Please start looking into Kenosha GAL’s! They all need to be investigated! They are ruining families because they don’t do their job!
They have not done their jobs for years and years. It’s pretty sad to see what can constitute an unfit parent, yet these people insist kids continue time with an unfit parent. What are they learning? GAL’S spend what, a couple hours, if that, and profess to know what is best for each situation? Judges or court commissioners don’t want to hear verifiable patterns/history, which is a pretty important indicator of the circumstances a child may be put in or live. It’s ridiculous they seem to ignore things that are detrimental to the children.
Who is in charge of GALs at the courthouse? There has to be a point of contact over there? They act as if they are untouchable and they are not. They are lawyers and are held to the same standard as all other lawyers. They can be reported to the Office of Lawyer Regulation. It is a very simple process.
GALs are lawyers, when they should be social workers. Kenosha County is doing everything backwards.
💯it’s all backwards. They are thinking like lawyers and not in the best interest of the child. They want to win, the hell with the child.
Racine uses social workers in family cases in addition to GALs. Jason Rossell absolutely refused to ask the county board for $ to hire a full time social worker or counselor to work on family cases. He said he needed to have money available for when he got a new judge. Still waiting on that new judge [who is unnecessary] and still no social worker. Rossell couldn’t care less about families in Kenosha – he just wants to be an appeals judge and move away. Hypocrite.
This is wonderful for Kenosha. Law enforcement, prosecutors and judges should not act as though they’re on the same team. They each have their own duties to ensure justice is done. Prosecutors and judges are all to willing to allow law enforcement to purger themselves on the stand and lie on affidavits. They have become complacent as long as they can clear a case. Everyone needs to do the right thing or it’s all corrupt. Anthony Milisauskas will tell a black man one day that he should have obeyed the instructions of an officer just to tell a white man the next day that his rights were not violated because force was not used and he didn’t have to comply with the commands. Thank you for all you do Kevin.
It’s impossible to trust the judgment of someone who would wear those stupid round glasses.🥸
I like Kevin’s reporting but there are so many stupid and baseless comments here. I wish people would be specific in their claims of fraud etc.
Karen lol
You can start with most of them treating their job as a part-time position, even though they are paid for a full-time job. When judges don’t work every Tuesday because they play golf that day, or the courthouse is a ghost town on Fridays, they are screwing the taxpayers. Then, these same judges want an additional branch added so another judge can be hired. The state pays judges salaries, but county taxpayers pay for all the staff in the courthouse. If judges actually worked full-time, we wouldn’t need as many judges as we pay now.
These judges know if the public found out they were working part-time the public would vote them out of office. That’s why some of the judges threw a fit when Kevin asked for their swipe cards to get into the courthouse. Proof they don’t show up to work. One judge even parks her car by the courthouse but doesn’t actually do any work, just to make it look like she’s there.
None of this surprises me. We should know if they work full time when taxpayers pay their salaries.
The judges insist a commissioner be available until 5pm everyday to handle warrants and restraining orders. They also have the commissioners go to the police station to handle warrants every Saturday. Judges refuse to stay until 5pm and they refuse to help on Saturdays. The commissioners cant legally sign certain warrants, commitments, etc but the judges still refuse to stay. So either things have to wait until the next morning or.Monday or the police have to track down a judge willing to look at stuff at home. Don’t get me started on all the games the judges play to avoid those calls… refusing to get internet at home, sending calls to voicemail, flat out refusing to help.
The courthouse is an absolute mess and there is ZERO judicial leadership.
Heather used to have her husband come and pick her up and she’d leave her car there so it looked she was at work. Than he’d drop her back off and they’d head home.
This started when he got fired/”quit” his job, but that’s a whole other story…since he’s still not working, wonder if she’s up to her old tricks.
Activist judges need to be called out—if their ideology overrides set law, well then, they need to be held accountable.
Thank you, Kevin, for providing oversight at the Courthouse.
GAL positions are paid by the month, not the hour. Lawyers all want to be, and are used to being paid by the hour.
Some GALs in the past have had spouses who supported them and could do a decent job as a GAL for the low pay. Most are unsuccessful lawyers who agree to be GALs and do the minimum.
The Judges want to GALs paid low so they can keep the money.
Judges Wagner and Schroeder tried to push “contracts” for by the month low pay for criminal defense for those that did not qualify for public defender defense. Again so they could keep the money. Again some very unsuccessful lawyers took these contracts and did the minimum.
Greedy, overpaid judges plus desperate, unsuccessful lawyers they want to exploit to maximize their “budget” equals both these situations.
Unfortunately, many of our judges seem more aligned with politics than a love for the law. It’s not just Kenosha. The quality of lawyer attracted to the bench has diminished. The last few judicial elections in Kenosha County have demonstrated that.
Angelina Gabriele Has been the only judge to ever show compassion. The rest have failed everybody.