Judge Ann Bradley

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Hi this is Ann.

Hi Justice Bradley

Hey this is Karsyn?

Yup and her partner Shea.

Who’s your partner?

Shea Lawrence.

Shea? OK.

Yup

OK you tell me what you want me to do, Karsyn and Shea.

What grades are you in?

We’re in 8^th grade

OK.

First of all we would like to thank you far agreeing to be interviewed and a you know this is for a book about the lives and contributions of Wisconsin women and we would like you to tell us about yourself and your career. We would like you to do most of the talking and we’ll save our questions ‘till the end of the interview.

Oh, and there is also an interview consent form we a re going to mail to you.

If we could have your address so we can do that because otherwise it probably wouldn’t be easy to mail.

OK, the address would be Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, State Capitol, Post Office Box 1688 Madison, WI and the ZIP is 53701

53701?

Yes.

Okay thank you and we’ll mail that to you as soon as we can.

Good. Good.

So, did you grow up in Wisconsin?

I grew up in Wisconsin. I grew up in a small town in southwest Wisconsin called Richland Center. And both my mom's family and my dad's family have lived in that part of the state of Wisconsin for over 100 years. So I have lots of family in Wisconsin. I grew up surrounded by lots of cousins and aunts and uncles in southwest Wisconsin. I graduated from Richland Center High School then went on to Webster College in St. Louis, Missouri. I majored in religion and in English. I also studied my junior year in Israel. After I finished college I taught high school in La Crosse, WI. I then went to law school and graduated from the University of Wisconsin law school here in Madison. Right after graduating from law school I moved to Wausau, Wisconsin and have been there ever since. I started working in Wausau as a trial lawyer with Wausau Insurance Company. Then I started my own law firm and it grew to 4 lawyers and then I became a circuit court judge. Before I became a circuit court judge I got married and had 4 children. I met my husband Mark Bradley in Wausau where we were married and he’s still a lawyer in Wausau with the Ruder Ware law firm. We had 4 kids and raised 4 kids in Wausau. In 1995, after having served on the circuit court for 10 years, I ran for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and was elected and have been on the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 1995. So that’s my life in a nutshell.

Where is the circuit court?

The circuit court is in the courthouse right in downtown Wausau. You know when you go downtown close to the mall it's in the courthouse building. The jail is part of the courthouse building. That’s where the circuit court is. At night when you watch the news on TV sometimes the local TV will have pictures of the courtrooms if the defendant is being brought in or taken out or some trial is going on. Those courtrooms are right downtown Wausau in the courthouse. And I was a circuit court judge in one of those courtrooms for 10 years.

What are some of the things you like the most about your job?

I love that it’s a job where I can really make a difference in peoples’ lives. As a trial judge you really make decisions that affect peoples’ lives day in and day out. Here on the Supreme Court it’s different because we don’t have trials like you do in the circuit court. All of our work is really done in large part by reading written arguments that are made by the parties and then writing opinions. The only time we have people in the court room for a court proceeding is when they come and make arguments about their points of law. Those are called oral arguments and we have them several times a month. But it's not like the trial court at all. We don’t have witnesses or anything like that. I love the job because it's an important job; it makes a difference in peoples' lives. It’s challenging, it’s interesting intellectually, stimulating and I love working at the State Capitol. It’s a beautiful building. I love knowing that many lawyers and judges who have worked here before me have shaped the law in this state and that I can be part of that tradition. So that’s some of the things I like about my job.

Are there any dislikes about your job?

It's hard work sometimes. It requires lots of hours, lots of night work, lots of weekends. Sometime its difficult knowing what the correct answer is. So it takes a lot of time. It's very, very hard work. Just like a lot of things in life, if you want to do it well -- if you want to be a good student -- for most of us unless you were born a genius it requires hard work and that’s the same thing with my job. To do it well requires lots of hours and hard work but it is worth doing. It's an important job.

So, has being a woman at all influenced or affected you at all in your career or what jobs you got?

Well when I came to Wausau I was a woman lawyer, of course, a woman trial lawyer. At the same time I came another woman came to Wausau but there were no women lawyers in Wausau other than the two of us. When I would try cases -- I would have jury trials on cases involving auto accidents or if people were injured by machinery or they slipped and fell on something. I would have trials around the state in central and northern Wisconsin and in many of those courthouses I was the first woman to do a civil trial. I didn’t do criminal trials at that time. It was all personal injury cases when people would sue one another. It was unusual for the male litigators to have women try cases and to have women be on the other side of a personal injury action. When I became a circuit court judge, a trial judge, in Wausau, I was the first woman circuit court judge in Marathon County. In fact, I was the first woman circuit court judge in all of north central Wisconsin, not just in Marathon County but in all the surrounding counties. When I came to the supreme court, I was the first woman to get to the supreme court by election. There are only 7 justices on the supreme court in the entire state. In Wisconsin we run for election statewide to be on the supreme court, but if for some reason one of the justices resigns early before their elected term is up or if they die, then the governor makes an appointment until the next election so that the person can run for election the next scheduled election. So there were two women on the supreme court before I got to the court but both of them initially got to the court because the governor appointed them. I was the first woman to get on the supreme court in the history of the state by running for election. So I’ve had a number of firsts in my life.

Were there any big struggles that you have had?

It is always challenging to balance home life with work life. We had 4 children in 5 years; that’s a challenge (laughs). You will know that when you get older. My husband and I did that when we were both very busy professionals, so that’s a challenge and you’ve got to really stay focused on your family when you have 4 kids in 5 years and then also do your job at the same time. So that takes a lot of focus and a lot of commitment to those two things, family and job. Doesn’t leave a lot of time for sleep or play.

Do you think these days there is more equality in the employment and employment opportunities for women today?

There is more opportunity for women today certainly than when I graduated from high school but women still have a long ways to go. Pay is unequal. I don’t know the current statistics but generally women make about 70-80% of what men do oftentimes for the same kinds of jobs. Although you see women being the head of some large companies you don’t see too many women yet being the heads of banks. You don’t see too many women being the head of large law firms. There are some, but there is still a ways to go. Is there totally equality yet? In some areas, but in other areas, not so.

Have you ever experienced any discrimination against women?

I don’t think that I have personally felt discrimination against women. I think that for me sometimes people thought that I couldn’t do a job as well or I wouldn’t be as good on a case. The way that I handled that is to just to work harder and be better that they were. And to beat them. So maybe initially they would question my abilities but once they saw me in action then they didn’t, then they knew that I was a worthy opponent.

So for balancing your family time and work was that difficult at all?

Sure it was difficult and I was able to handle it in large part because I have such a loving husband. We not only love one another but we are committed to the same things, so we were very dedicated to making sure we were home in the evenings for our kids. We didn’t belong to any clubs/organizations so, although we worked during the day we were home every evening with them. We got to their school events during the day and we would make arrangements at work to get to their school events when necessary and did a lot with them on weekends. So it’s difficult, but especially when you have a good partner, it makes it lots easier.

So the balance didn’t change much over time?

Well balance changes when the kids get older. When the kids go off to college, it changes. But it just changes -- it's different at the different stations in the kids’ lives. And different stages of our lives as well.

Is there any job you would have liked to try to do other than being a judge or justice?

This is the job I want to do. When I was in high school I thought of being an archeologist. I thought of being a symphony conductor, but I ultimately ended up going to law school. One of the reasons that being a judge worked so well for me is because it gives me that opportunity, as I said earlier, to make a difference in peoples' lives and to strive to do what is right under the law and that’s a real gift to be able to work in this type of a job where I can do that.

Have you had any inspirations that lead you to law?

I think that my path to law was in part tied into my interest in issues of social justice. My under-graduate major was in religion and in English. When I taught high school I taught religion but what I taught my class were issues of social justice. I think I’ve always been interested in issues of justice and ethics and that’s why being a judge is just a real gift and opportunity to work in an area that I love. To work for justice is pretty good stuff.

Do you have any hobbies?

Sure, I do some downhill skiing. I like biking and all four of my kids and me and my husband are certified scuba divers. So those are some of the things we do. Lately I’ve been doing more biking, but I still downhill ski also.

So what are some important life lessons you would like younger generations of women to be aware of?

Sometimes my husband and I talk about the same expression, but we change it a little. My husband Mark says “Chance favors the trained mind.” And I say “Chance favors those in motion.” Let me tell you what both of those mean. When we say “Chance favors the trained mind” the lesson for not only students or younger people, but for everyone is that you will have opportunities in life but you have to prepare yourself for them. You have to go to school, you have to learn, and you have got to train your mind. A lot of life is good fortune; a lot of life is being at the right place at the right time, but you not only have to be in the right place at the right time but you have to be ready to accept a challenge. And so chance, or fortune, being fortunate or lucky means that those who have trained themselves and gone to school are ready for the opportunity. Their life will be more fortunate. And I say chance not only favors the trained mind, but chance favors those in motion. And by that I mean don’t just dig yourself into a hole and stay there. There’s a big world out there and you’ve got to keep your mind moving and you’ve got to get interested in things and get involved in things and in the community. Know what’s going on in the state and in our nation and in our world. And again, fortune and opportunity will come to those who not only have the trained mind and studied hard and worked hard, but to those who are willing to take risks and go out and venture into the unknown. That’s the advice I would give to younger people.

Is there anything in your life you wish you could do over again, like you were in the right place and at the right time but you didn’t take a chance?

No. That’s an easy answer. I’ve been really fortunate; I mean I have a husband who I dearly love, and four healthy kids who are doing what they want. The youngest is now 24 and the oldest is 28, and we are still very close and active as a family. I have a job that allows me work for justice. So the answer to your question is no.

What are the biggest differences in how women are treated today compared to when you were growing up?

There is lots more opportunity now. When I graduated from high school, most of my friends thought that the thing to do if you went on to college would be a teacher or become a nurse. And now all sorts of jobs are available. When I came to Wausau, there was another woman that came at the same time. There were no women lawyers and now there are lots of women lawyers. There was no woman judge, not in just Marathon County, but in all the surrounding counties. And now we recently have another woman judge, Judge Falstad, in Marathon County. And on the Supreme Court, now out of the seven justices, four are women. So since I was in high school, middle school, and eighth grade, it’s changed a lot.

When you were growing up, how do you think the family structures and the role of a woman in a family have changed, from then till today?

For one thing, many more women work outside the home now than when I was in grade school. And now you have more women working outside the home and sometimes the mother works outside the home and the dad stays home and takes care of the children. Many jobs have evolved that hadn’t been work-at-home jobs when I was in grade school. Now that your office is in your home, that all feeds into the family structure.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your family members?

Four kids, two girls and two boys. I just got off the phone with the oldest child, Bryn; she’s a chiropractor in Salt Lake City. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit my son John who is traveling through Africa for a year. He has a law degree and is a lawyer; and he also has a masters in business, an MBA. My daughter Elizabeth is working in New York at the Center for Constitutional Rights, which does really important work and works on the Guantanamo Project. You may have heard about the Guantanamo in Cuba, that’s sometimes in the news. And my youngest son Patrick -- I was with him on Sunday -- he is going to be signing up for courses to become a teacher. They’re all doing what they want to do and I’m just fortunate to have happy, healthy kids.

Do you think you or your husband served as an inspiration to any of them?

I don’t know if we served as inspiration but we certainly tried to guide them through life and still try to. Sometimes they probably listened to us more than others and I think they learned from us. I don’t know if you would call that inspiration. I think they know the importance of family life by having experienced it, but perhaps we have inspired them.

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