Politics & Government
Waukesha County Judicial Candidates Split on Experience
Incumbent Judge Kathleen Stilling worked as a public defender, while challenger Lloyd Carter is an assistant district attorney.
When former Gov. Jim Doyle announced the appointment of Kathleen Stilling to fill a vacancy on the Waukesha County Court bench in August, Lloyd Carter announced that he was going to run against her.
Carter, an assistant Waukesha County district attorney, is running on a tough law-and-order platform.
“I have taken the criminals off the street and protected the citizens of this community,” Carter said at a forum Thursday night at the Waukesha County Courthouse.
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Stilling, a lawyer who worked for the State Public Defender’s Office from 1981 to 1989, said her experience at the defense table makes her a better judge, one able to cut to the fact.
“I know how these defendants think,” she said. “I know how they react. I know who they are.”
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Stilling replaced Paul Reilly who was elected to the 2nd District Court of Appeals.
In the seven months that she has been on the bench, Stilling has heard criminal and traffic cases. She noted that some 60% of the cases in the courts are not criminal. Her experience in private practice handling a variety of non-criminal cases are good preparation for that, she said.
Carter, a prosecutor for 22 years, did small claims litigation for about a year and a half after finishing law school, he said. But the rules of evidence are the same for criminal or civil court, he said.
“I have worked for more than 20 years at putting the bad guys behind bars,” said Carter. “My opponent has done the opposite. Nothing wrong being a criminal defense attorney. They just operate by different rules.”
That drew a testy remark from Stilling.
“I have defended the constitution for almost 30 years,” Stilling said. “So important is the right to counsel that it is a constitutional right.”
Carter agreed, saying that the justice system benefits when everyone is represented by lawyers.
Stilling, of Brookfield, received her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Stilling has worked with the Coalition for Drug Free Communities.
Carter, of New Berlin, is a Marquette University Law School graduate. He was the legal director for the Waukesha County Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Group, a cooperative local, state and federal law enforcement group.
