Experience

During my time as a prosecutor with the Waukesha County D.A.’s Office I worked my way up to my present position of Deputy District Attorney.  I started in the traffic unit prosecuting traffic cases.  During my two years in the traffic unit I received a great deal of trial experience prosecuting OWI cases.  I was then transferred to the Domestic Violence Unit.  After two years I became the lead prosecutor in the DV Unit.  In the six years I was in the DV Unit, I prosecuted and went to trial on everything from domestic violence disorderly conduct and battery cases, to child abuse, child abuse causing death, and sexual assault cases. 

I then was assigned to the Felony/Misdemeanor Unit and prosecuted serious misdemeanor cases as well as felony cases including stalking, burglaries, robberies, and homicides.   Many of these cases went to trial and the defendants were successfully prosecuted.  I was further able to specialize in white collar crime cases, using the knowledge and experience I gained at Waukesha State Bank.  One of my more complicated white-collar cases was one I took to trial involving an insurance agent stealing from the company she worked for.  I charged the defendant with 106 criminal counts and obtained a guilty conviction on each count after a two-week jury trial. 

After approximately 13 years in the Felony/Misdemeanor Unit, I transferred to the Drug Unit.  During this time, I was promoted to Deputy District Attorney.  With that position, I maintained my full case-load of approximately 400 cases and supervised attorneys in the office as well as our law school interns.   I became the Director of the Drug Unit which is responsible for prosecuting defendants accused of dealing drugs in our county.  I remain the Director of the Drug Unit and take pride in the success of our unit. 

In the eight years I have been in the Drug Unit we have certainly seen concerning trends.  Number one on that list is the significant presence of fentanyl in our community and the rising death toll from drug overdoses.  Although it continues to be a high-volume case-load, I do take pride in the message we are sending out to drug dealers—If you sell drugs in Waukesha County, you will be held accountable.  Drug dealers do not want to cross over from Milwaukee County into Waukesha County because they know they will be prosecuted and held accountable in Waukesha County.  Officers share stories of defendants asking why they are being arrested because in Milwaukee County law enforcement only seizes the drugs and releases the dealers.  Recently a Chief of Police told me a defendant started to panic after they were arrested because the squad was heading west instead of east. This is exactly the message I want to send.

The most serious case I was involved with during my time at the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office was the Waukesha Christmas Parade case.  I continued to carry a full case-load and continued my supervision duties, while also focusing on one of the most serious mass casualty incidents in Wisconsin history.  The work on this case focused on minimizing the trauma to the victims and witnesses who continue to live with the physical and emotional scars from the parade.  This case involved massive amounts of evidence, including hundreds of statements from victims and witnesses, police reports from federal, state and numerous local agencies and hundreds of videos.  In the end we met with 84 witnesses to prepare for trial and only had to call 59 witnesses to prove our case.  The jury found the defendant guilty on all counts in less than three hours.

Based upon my vast experience in the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office and my lifelong connection and commitment to Waukesha County, I am the best candidate for District Attorney of Waukesha County.  I am fully committed to working hard to keep our community safe and prosecute those who threaten that safety.