Jill Karofsky

Jill Judith Karofsky (born July 15, 1966) is an American attorney who has served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court since 2020.^[1] Karofsky served as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Dane County from 2017 until her 2020 election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.^[2]

Jill Karofsky
Karofsky in 2023
Chief Justice-elect of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Assuming office July 1, 2025
Succeeding	Ann Walsh Bradley (elect)
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Incumbent
Assumed office August 1, 2020
Preceded by	Daniel Kelly
Judge of the Dane County Circuit Court Branch 12
In office August 1, 2017 – July 31, 2020
Preceded by	Clayton Kawski
Succeeded by	Chris Taylor
Personal details
Born	Jill Judith Karofsky (1966-07-15) July 15, 1966 (age 58) Middleton, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jason Knutson ​ ​ (m. 1998; div. 2017)​
Children	2
Education	Duke University (BA) University of Wisconsin–Madison (MA, JD)
Website	Campaign website

Early life and legal career

Jill Karofsky was born on July 15, 1966, in south-central Wisconsin to Judy Karofsky, a former Middleton, Wisconsin, city council member and the city's mayor from 1975 to 1977, and her then-husband Peter Karofsky, a pediatrician.^[2] Karofsky was a state tennis champion while at Middleton High School, where she graduated in 1984. She later played Division I sports for Duke University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in 1988. Karofsky received her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1992.^[3][4] She married attorney Jason Knutson in July 1998, though they later divorced.

Karofsky entered civil service as a deputy district attorney for Dane County.^[3] She has also served in the Wisconsin Department of Justice as Assistant Attorney General working as Wisconsin's Violence Against Women resource prosecutor, and later leading the Office of Crime Victim Services.^[5][6]

Judicial career

In 2017, Karofsky was elected as a judge on the Dane County Circuit Court, beating municipal judge Marilyn Townsend by 15 points.^[7]

Three years later, Karofsky challenged incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in Wisconsin's 2020 election.^[8] Kelly had been appointed to the Supreme Court by Republican then-Governor Scott Walker in 2016 and was endorsed by President Donald Trump.^[9] Karofsky was endorsed by over 100 current and former Wisconsin judges, including incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet. She also received endorsements from U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, former governor Jim Doyle, and former U.S. senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl.^[10] In the final days before the election, Karofsky was endorsed by both the remaining 2020 Democratic Party presidential primary candidates—former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.^[11][12]

The election set a spending record for any Wisconsin Supreme Court race, with the two candidates raising a collective $10 million.^[13] During the campaign, Karofsky was the target of television attack ads funded by supporters of her opponent Daniel Kelly. The ads falsely claimed Karofsky, as deputy district attorney, struck a plea deal with a man charged with sexual assault of a minor resulting in no jail time.^[14] Karofsky was not placed on the case as a prosecutor until a year after the deal was struck. On March 27, 2020, Karofsky's campaign announced intent to file a cease and desist order against the ads.^[15][16] On April 6, 2020, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Timothy Witkowiak blocked Karofsky's injunction against the ads on the grounds of unlawful prior restraint.^[17] The nonprofit fact checking site PolitiFact included the false claims against Karofsky it its yearly "Pants on Fire" review for 2020.^[18]

On April 13, 2020, Karofsky was declared the winner of the election, taking roughly 55% of the vote.^[1] She took office on August 1, 2020, and became the ninth woman in Wisconsin history to serve on the state's high court.^[19][20] Karofsky's upset election has been cited by Tom Perez, the Democratic National Committee Chair, as being indicative of the results of the 2020 presidential election.^[21]

In keeping with her marathon hobby, on August 1, 2020, Karofsky was sworn into office following the thirty-fifth mile of an "ultramarathon," by Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet in a ceremony also attended by former governor Jim Doyle. She then ran another sixty-five miles.^[22][23]

On April 3, 2025, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley was elected to a two-year term as court's chief justice beginning May 1, although she is slated to leave office when her current judicial term expires on July 31. As such, Karofsky was also elected to succeed Bradley as chief justice upon the conclusion of her term.^[24]

2020 Presidential election cases

Karofsky voted with the majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to dismiss several of Donald Trump's appeals as he sought to challenge the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Wisconsin. As a result, she and Judge Rebecca Dallet, who also voted with the majority, were attacked in print and on social media with antisemitic and misogynistic comments and threats.^[25] The attacks prompted the chief justice, Patience D. Roggensack, to issue a statement condemning the threats.^[26]

Personal life

A single mother of two children (a son and a daughter), Karofsky lives in Madison, Wisconsin.^[27] She is a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete.^[28]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Circuit Court (2017)

Wisconsin Circuit Court, Dane Circuit, Branch 12 Election, 2017^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 4, 2017
	Nonpartisan	Jill J. Karofsky	50,585	57.54%
	Nonpartisan	Marilyn Townsend	37,110	42.21%
		Various Write in candidates	218	0.25%
Plurality			13,475	15.33%
Total votes			87,913	100.0%

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2020)

  Karofsky 40–60%

  Karofsky 60–70%

  Karofsky 70–90%

  Kelly 40–60%

  Kelly 60–70%

2020 Wisconsin Supreme Court election^[30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, February 18, 2020
	Nonpartisan	Daniel Kelly (incumbent)	352,876	50.04%
	Nonpartisan	Jill J. Karofsky	261,783	37.13%
	Nonpartisan	Ed Fallone	89,184	12.65%
		Various Write in candidates	1,295	0.18%
Total votes			705,138	100.0%
General Election, April 7, 2020
	Nonpartisan	Jill J. Karofsky	855,573	55.21%
	Nonpartisan	Daniel Kelly (incumbent)	693,134	44.73%
		Various Write in candidates	990	0.06%
Plurality			162,439	10.48%
Total votes			1,549,697	100.0%