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Has Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz sentenced tens of thousands of people?

By Tom Kertscher
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NO

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, one of four candidates running for Wisconsin Supreme Court, has sentenced no more than 3,827 defendants in felony, misdemeanor and traffic cases.

That’s according to records provided Feb. 8, 2023 by the Milwaukee County Clerk of Circuit Court. Wisconsin Watch requested the records.

The clerk’s office said the tally might be an overcount. The records indicate when Protasiewicz was listed in connection with a sentencing but, since some cases are handled by more than one judge, it’s possible that Protasiewicz did not actually hand down the sentence in each case.

The records list for Protasiewicz 353 sentencings in 2014; 1,213 in 2015; 806 in 2016; 532 in 2017; 291 in 2018; 336 in 2019; 104 in 2020; 99 in 2021; 86 in 2022; and seven in 2023.

The Supreme Court primary election is Feb. 21. The top two vote getters will compete April 4.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Google Drive Protasiewicz sentencings
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Wisconsin Watch
Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.