(Somers Municipal Court)
SOMERS, Wis. — Tammy Jo Rose, the embattled bailiff for Judge Chad Kerkman (D), is again at the center of controversy — this time involving her miniature horse, Sir Trottington, which she claims is an emotional support animal. Despite being cited several times for violating local ordinances, Rose now appears poised to receive a taxpayer-funded settlement worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Court and village records show Rose has been ticketed multiple times over the past year for violating Somers ordinances requiring at least three acres of property to keep a horse. Her lot on 12th Street is only about one and a half acres — roughly half the required minimum — yet she has continued to keep the horse on the property. Neighbors say the animal has been seen wandering free on several occasions, including at night.
Rose is currently out on felony bail in a separate Kenosha County case, where she is charged with identity theft after allegedly using a former boyfriend’s business account to make unauthorized purchases at Sherwin-Williams.
Multiple residents have also reported that Rose keeps the miniature horse inside her home during the colder months, raising concerns about sanitary conditions, odor, and potential health hazards for both the occupants and the animal.
After being found guilty in a February 2025 trial before a municipal judge, Rose appealed and later enlisted the help of the Disability Rights Center of Wisconsin, claiming her miniature horse was an emotional support or service animal. Attorney Hannah Balder of the Disability Rights Center entered her appearance in July 2025, arguing that Rose was entitled to keep the horse under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act. She won’t comment to KCE.
According to multiple sources familiar with ongoing discussions, Rose is now working with the Department of Justice on a settlement that could pay her tens of thousands of dollars from Village of Somers taxpayers. The reported agreement would allow her to keep the horse on her undersized property — an exception no other resident has ever been granted — as long as she builds a fence with part of the money. The rest of the funds would be hers to keep.
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Village President George Stoner has reportedly approved or is preparing to approve the deal. He did not respond to a request for comment from Kenosha County Eye.
Village Administrator Jim Hurley told KCE today “The Village’s legal counsel is in discussion with Ms. Rose’s legal counsel. No terms have been finalized.”
Some residents are furious, calling the arrangement “special treatment” for a courthouse insider. “If this were anyone else, they’d have been fined and forced to remove the animal months ago,” one taxpayer said. “Instead, she gets paid.”
Records show Rose was personally served with multiple citations and municipal complaints, each detailing violations of Somers Ordinance §10.03(b)(1) — regulating large animals and fowl. Despite warnings from inspectors and sheriff’s deputies, Rose continued to house the horse, even after being told her property did not qualify.
Village enforcement officers noted the horse’s recurring escapes, including one report from August 25, 2024, when deputies found the miniature horse tied to a tree along County Highway E after escaping from Rose’s yard yet again.
The situation has sparked debate not only over taxpayer money but also over whether the Disability Rights Center of Wisconsin was misled. Some local officials believe attorney Balder and her Madison-based organization were “duped” into defending a frivolous claim from a politically connected courthouse employee.
(File Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)
Rose, who remains closely linked to Judge Kerkman, has not publicly commented. Kerkman himself has declined to answer Kenosha County Eye’s questions about his bailiff’s ongoing legal issues. He has also shielded her from having to be booked into the jail and photographed like anyone else being charged with a felony. Tens of thousands of mugshots are on the Sheriff’s website — some for misdemeanors, some for ordinance violations — but not one for Ms. Rose.
With DOJ involvement and a large settlement apparently imminent, Rose is not only receiving a payout but also being granted special permission to keep a horse on a property barely half the size required by ordinance — a privilege no one else in the village enjoys. Residents are questioning whether this could set a dangerous precedent, allowing anyone in Kenosha County — or even across Wisconsin — to simply claim their horse is an emotional support animal to skirt zoning, acreage, and public health requirements.
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23 Responses
You really can’t make this shit up!!!!!! I mean all we wanted was a damn house…….
🤣
I hope she wins her case. Look, she is not horsing around. Emotional support horses are needed by folk’s who are crazy as a loon.
Lol
When are horses tied up and not able to roam free in their pasture? Maybe we should have someone investigate animal neglect charges…. Does she bring her mini horse out to eat with her or in her car for emotional support? I highly doubt it. She has a dog deemed as her emotional support animal, very interesting. This case should be tossed out. Hopefully the village grows some balls and hires a good attorney. The case should be held in a different county to avoid bias.
Tammy Jo with her horse,
Rita with her jackass.
Somebody explain why liberal women are so pathetic.
Yes, liberalism is a mental disease.
In the news yesterday that female DNA has almost 2x more markers for depression and anxiety than male DNA (13k female/7k male). In today’s helter skelter polarized high pressure cultural environment full of “noise”, it’s fully consistent that a much higher frequency of crazy women occurs.
Also, this gender-anchored medical marker is proof that women are NOT superior to men when hoisted into leadership positions by their social-alpha bully aggressiveness which masks this negative genetic differential.
We need you to be the president of this club:
https://youtu.be/SfgFf1cyYd8?si=wA-hgxiJRpofcTkx
I use to be friends with her and enjoyed watching the shit show on Facebook. Sad she must have unfriended me 😞
When I was a little girl in Poland… we all had ponies. My sister had pony. My cousin had pony. So, what’s wrong with that?
Who leaves a country packed with ponies to come to a non-pony country. It doesn’t make sense.
This one time in Tiajuana I saw a donkey show…
In the mirror?
What doctor signed off on the need for horse/pony?
Dr Martin Van Nostrand
He is connected to Vanderlay Industries. Big latex is as dangerous as big pharma
Asked for comment she remained silent, someone said she’s a little hoarse.
I call BS on anyone having an emotional support animal, get some therapy and learn some coping skills.Too many abuse this.
Is “George Stoner” up to the task? I think Tammy and her counsel may have rolled him.
Somers has long been known for special treatment for certain people. Stoner needs to go. Loser!!
How the fuck is she even able to be a bailiff if she needs an emotional support horse?Somebody drive by and shoot the poor thing, put it out of it’s misery. Better yet, sick PETA on her!
Did she take the horse to work with her in the courtroom?