Candidate and Voter Info

Candidate:
Randy R. Koschnick
Office:
State Supreme Court
Party:
Non-partisan
Address:
PO Box 1348 ,
Madison WI 53701-1348
Phone:
(608) 575-7344

Related websites:
Campaign Finance

Opponents:

Campaign Web site:
www.koschnickforjustice.com

Biography

(from candidate Web site)

The Honorable Randy R. Koschnick has distinguished himself as a leader in Wisconsin’s legal community serving as Presiding Judge of the Jefferson County Circuit Court and Deputy Chief Judge of Wisconsin’s Third Judicial District. He is an award-winning jurist with nearly 25 years of legal experience covering a broad spectrum of the law including the Circuit Court, State Public Defenders’ Office, county prosecutor’s office, and Board Member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Criminal Law Section.

Judge Koschnick was elected to the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Branch 4, in 1999 and re-elected to the bench in 2005. Judge Koschnick is a recipient of the Wisconsin Law Journal’s 2008 Leaders in the Law Award for implementing “…a number of significant changes, designed to save the taxpayers of Jefferson County money and enhance the public safety, while improving the speed at which cases are processed in the county.” Under his leadership, Jefferson County Circuit Court rose from 18th to 2nd statewide for overall median case age at disposition within the first twelve months of his new case
assignment plan.

Active in Wisconsin’s legal community, Judge Koschnick served as Board Member of the State Bar of Wisconsin Criminal Law Section (2001-2005). The Criminal Law Section membership consists of prosecutors and defense attorneys dedicated to improving the quality of criminal justice in Wisconsin, including providing opinions and advice to the state legislature on proposed legislation affecting the criminal trial courts. In addition, he was selected to serve on the State Assembly’s Criminal Justice Reforms Task Force, which enhanced state law by implementing new, evidence-based practices in the areas of eyewitness identification and police interrogation of criminal suspects. These reforms wereadopted primarily to increase the reliability of criminal convictions and, at the same time, to reduce the likelihood of wrongful convictions. Judge Koschnick’s expertise in criminal law has allowed him to lecture at legal training seminars sponsored by the Wisconsin Judicial Education Office, as well as at the Wisconsin District Attorney’s Conference and the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Conference.

Judge Koschnick is perhaps best known for his Circuit Court decision in State v. Knapp, often referred toas the “Bloody Shirt Case”, a case which progressed to the United States Supreme Court.

A strict constructionist of the law and an advocate for victim’s rights, Judge Koschnick helped create the Jefferson County Victim Impact Panel. He is the panel’s Coordinator and Moderator (2003-present). His work at the county level includes service as a Board Member of Jefferson County’s People Against Domestic Abuse (1996-1999) and past President of the Jefferson County Bar Association.

Prior to his nearly 10 years on the Circuit Court, Judge Koschnick served 14 years as public defender in La Crosse County and Jefferson County, where he was elevated to Deputy First Assistant State Public Defender (1985-1989). He also gained valuable prosecution experience as an intern in the Homicide and Sexual Assault Prosecution Unit of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, where he prepared briefs for prosecuting attorneys (1983-1985).

Judge Koschnick is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. He was born in Milwaukee in 1960, graduated from Whitefish Bay High School, received a Bachelors of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (1982), and earned his Juris Doctorate from Hamline University School of Law (1985). Judge Koschnick resides in Ixonia with his wife, Terri. They have two daughters.

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