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.
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, Judge 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, Judge 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]
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.[24] The attacks prompted the chief justice, Patience D. Roggensack, to issue a statement condemning the threats.[25]
Personal life
A single mother of two children (a son and a daughter), Karofsky lives in Madison, Wisconsin.[26] She is a marathon runner and Ironman triathlete.[27]
