Protasiewicz’s experience spans from classroom to both sides of courtroom

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Janet Protasiewicz has done it all.

She’s a state trial court judge, presiding over the felony drug calendar for Milwaukee County’s criminal division. She’s been a law professor at Marquette University Law School and spent more than two decades as a prosecutor.

“So many have helped me along the way,” Protasiewicz said. “This whole legal community I am part of, I feel like we have all grown up together like a big family. I can count on these people all the time.”

She knew early on that she wanted to be in the public sector after working for a lawmaker as a teenager, but she wasn’t sure where she would fit in. Protasiewicz got her undergraduate degree in history before deciding to go to law school.

Initially, she thought she didn’t want to ever set foot in a courtroom. As a law student, Protasiewicz worked for a bank but discovered it wasn’t a good fit. It was a trial-advocacy class that sparked her interest in criminal law and jump-started her work in the criminal-justice system.

“I was hooked,” she said. “Yes, this is absolutely what I wanted to do. I want to be in the courtroom. I want to be in the courthouse.”

Protasiewicz spent more than 25 years as a Milwaukee County prosecutor before getting elected to the bench in 2014. She went from juggling the many tasks of a prosecutor to being able to watch a case unfold from the bench.

Nevertheless, the judging is no walk in the park. It’s no easy task to balance the need to protect the public with the need to be fair to defendants and every person that sets foot in her courtroom.

“I really have to give credit to people who do this,” she said. “This is much more challenging than the lawyers realize.”

When Protasiewicz is not on the bench, she’s out in the community. Recently, she helped install smoke detectors in a Milwaukee neighborhood.

“I’m a big believer that when the public elects you, you have got to be active in your community,” Protasiewicz said.

Catherine La Fleur, a Milwaukee-based lawyer who went through law school with Protasiewicz, noted that Protasiewicz not only gives her time to others, but has a knack for encouraging others to do the same.

“I look to her as a great facilitator,” said La Fleur.