Doyle appoints Rothstein to bench

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Milwaukee County will lose a long-time prosecutor, but it will gain a new judge this March.

Gov. Jim Doyle recently appointed assistant district attorney Stephanie G. Rothstein to succeed John Franke, who resigned at the end of 2008 to join Milwaukee law firm Gass Weber Mullins LLC.

Rothstein has been a prosecutor in Milwaukee since graduating from Marquette University Law School in 1984 and currently serves as a community prosecutor in District 1. She will take the bench in March and serve out the remainder of Franke’s term, which concludes on July 31, 2010.

Rothstein, who beat out 13 other candidates, declined initial comment on the appointment, other than to say she was honored by the selection.

In a statement, Doyle praised Rothstein for her devotion to public service for 25 years and expressed his confidence in her ability to be a “fair, thoughtful and committed judge.”

Rothstein lives in Whitefish Bay with her husband Gregory and children Jacqueline, Grace and Leah.

Other candidates for the Branch 25 seat included Kristela L. Cervera, Milwaukee County Department of Child Support Enforcement; Cedric S. Cornwall, Small Claims Court Commissioner; Karen D. Dardy, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee Inc.; William J. Domina, Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel; Gregory J. Haanstad, U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District; Robert E. Webb, Jr., State Public Defender Milwaukee Trial Office; federal defender Paul Flynn; and private attorneys Sue L. Colburn, Peter G. Earle, Nathan D. Eisenberg, Christopher R. Lipscomb, Mark A. Peterson, and Scott A. Wales.