Judge to face disorderly conduct charges

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Embattled Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Linda Van De Water will stand trial this fall for disorderly conduct charges.

On Monday, Racine County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Ptacek set a trial date of Oct. 27 after denying a motion for recusal filed by the defense against District Attorney Michael Nieskes.

According to court officials, Van De Water did not appear at the July 11 hearing.

Van De Water is charged with disorderly conduct after confronting her former boyfriend outside the home of another woman.

According to a criminal complaint, the judge kicked and jumped on the hood of the man’s car as he tried to drive away from a residence in Caledonia earlier this year.

The episode began when Van De Water frantically pounded on the door of the woman’s neighbor looking for her ex-boyfriend, according to the complaint. When he came out of the house next door and got into the car, she jumped on the hood and started screaming at the man. The complaint says he got out of the car and pushed her away. The judge then got in an SUV and followed the man.

Van De Water was re-elected to her second six-year term in 2009.