David Prosser, Jr. Biography

David T. Prosser Jr. (born December 24, 1942) is an American jurist and Wisconsin politician who served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1998 to 2016. A former Republican speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly, Prosser was appointed to the court by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1998, and was elected to his first 10-year term without opposition in 2001. He ran for reelection in April 2011 against little-known Wisconsin assistant attorney general, Joanne Kloppenburg. The race received national attention and was viewed as a referendum on efforts by Republican Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature to curb the union rights of public workers in Wisconsin. The April 5, 2011 election was too close to call until two days later when the Waukesha County Clerk announced she had erroneously omitted more than 14,000 votes from her earlier tally. The additional votes gave Prosser a lead of over 7,000 which was sustained by a later recount.