Headlines
Chief Judge Rossell selected to chair Committee of Chief Judges
Madison, Wisconsin - August 23, 2023
Second Judicial Administrative District Chief Judge Jason A. Rossell, Kenosha County Circuit Court, has been selected by his fellow chief judges to serve a one-year term as chair of the Committee of Chief Judges. Rossell replaces former committee chair, Judge Jennifer R. Dorow, Waukesha County Circuit Court. Dorow served the maximum of three two-year terms as a chief judge, including one year as committee chair.
Rossell has served on the Kenosha County Circuit Court since first being appointed in 2011. He won election to the bench in 2012 and 2018. He has served as chief judge since 2017, when he was appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to fill the unexpired term of retired former chief judge Allan P. “Pat” Torhorst, Racine County Circuit Court. Rossell was re-appointed chief judge in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Before taking the bench, Rossell worked as a lawyer in private practice from 2002 to 2003 and again from 2008 to 2011. He served as an assistant district attorney in Kenosha County from 2003 to 2008.
Rossell is Secretary of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference and a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Committee on Child Welfare and the Legislative Committee of the Judicial Conference. He holds a law degree from UW Law School and a BA from UW-Whitewater. Rossell began his term as committee chair on Aug. 1. Dorow, who remains on the Waukesha County bench, had served as chair of the committee since Aug. 1, 2022.
The Committee of Chief Judges is composed of one chief judge from each of the state’s nine judicial administrative districts. The committee chair presides over approximately seven committee meetings per year.
Working with the district court administrator, chief judges are responsible for the administration of judicial business in circuit and municipal courts within their respective districts. As needed, the chief judges convene subcommittees to consider administrative issues, address problems, and find solutions to improve operation of the trial courts.
The Second Judicial Administrative District includes Kenosha, Racine and Walworth counties in southeastern Wisconsin. With the exception of the First Judicial Administrative District (Milwaukee County), where the chief judge is a full-time administrator, chief judges and their deputies maintain court calendars, in addition to handling administrative matters.
More information about the Committee of Chief Judges, including a list of current chief judges and deputy chief judges, can be found here.