David Prosser Jr.

This article is about the American judge. For other uses, see David Prosser.

David Prosser Jr.
Prosser in 2009
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
In office
September 10, 1998 – July 31, 2016
Appointed byTommy Thompson
Preceded byJanine Geske
Succeeded byDaniel Kelly
Commissioner of the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission
In office
January 1997 – September 1998
Appointed byTommy Thompson
Preceded byJoe Mettner
Succeeded byThomas Boykoff
72nd Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byWalter Kunicki
Succeeded byBen Brancel
Minority Leader of the Wisconsin Assembly
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byBetty Jo Nelsen
Succeeded byWalter Kunicki
Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
In office
January 7, 1985 – January 3, 1997
Preceded byHeron Van Gorden
Succeeded bySteve Wieckert
Constituency57th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 7, 1985
Preceded byTommy Thompson
Succeeded byJoe Wineke
Constituency79th district
In office
January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byTobias A. Roth
Succeeded byHarvey Stower
Constituency42nd district
District Attorney of Outagamie County
In office
January 1, 1977 – January 1, 1979
Preceded byKenneth F. Rottier
Succeeded byWilliam Drengler
Personal details
Born (1942-12-24) December 24, 1942 (age 81)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma mater
ProfessionAttorney
Prosser in March 2011

David Thomas Prosser Jr.[1] (born December 24, 1942) is an American jurist and politician who served as Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1998 to 2016. He was an advisor to Wisconsin Assembly speaker Robin Vos as Vos sought a rationale for impeaching current Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Janet Protasiewicz.

Following his graduation from University of Wisconsin Law School, Prosser worked in Washington as an attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice and as an aide to U.S. Representative Harold Vernon Froehlich. Returning to Wisconsin, he began a private practice, worked as a district attorney for two years, then served 18 years as a Republican party legislator in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He was the state house minority leader for six of those years and Speaker of the Assembly for two years.

After an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House in 1996, Prosser was appointed by Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson to a vacant seat on the state tax appeals board, then in 1998 to a vacant seat on Wisconsin Supreme Court. He was elected to his first 10-year term without opposition in 2001. He ran for reelection in April 2011 against little-known Wisconsin assistant attorney general JoAnne Kloppenburg. The race received national attention and was viewed as a referendum on efforts by Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature to curb the union rights of public workers in Wisconsin.[2][3] The April 5, 2011, election was too close to call until two days later when the Waukesha County Clerk announced she had erroneously omitted more than 14,000 votes from her earlier tally. The additional votes gave Prosser a lead of over 7,000 which was sustained by a later recount.

Prosser received media attention in 2010 following verbal altercations with the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and also in June 2011 when allegations were made of a physical altercation between Prosser and fellow associate justice Ann Walsh Bradley that occurred in connection with the union-curbing bill.[4] A special prosecutor investigated but declined to press criminal charges.[5] An ethics action against Prosser was recommended by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission,[6] however, after three other justices recused themselves from the matter, no further action was taken.[7] Prosser returned to the spotlight in September 2023, when he emerged as an advisor to Wisconsin Assembly speaker Robin Vos in his attempts to find a rationale to impeach the newest Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, Janet Protasiewicz.[8]

  1. ^ Who's Who in American Law, 2002-2003. Marquis Who's Who. 2002. p. 515.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference referendum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference said to have was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Lueders, Bill (June 25, 2011). "Supreme Court spat got physical". Wisconsin Watch. Retrieved February 23, 2023.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference no charges was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference recommends was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference recusals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Impeachment review panel includes David Prosser, a conservative former justice who was a Republican Assembly speaker". PBS Wisconsin. September 15, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.