20 Facts About Bruce Schroeder

Bruce Edward Schroeder was born on c 1946 and is a retired American lawyer and jurist from Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

Bruce Schroeder served forty years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Kenosha County.

Bruce Schroeder came to national attention in 2021 due to his role as the presiding judge for the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Bruce Schroeder was judge in the first trial of Mark Jensen in the "letter from the grave" murder case.

Bruce Schroeder went on to Marquette University Law School and earned his JD in 1970.

Bruce Schroeder did not run for another term as district attorney in 1976.

Bruce Schroeder was not appointed at that time, but served as a court commissioner for the new organization of the Wisconsin circuit courts from 1978 until his elevation in 1983.

Bruce Schroeder was appointed to fill the position by Governor Tony Earl in May 1983, and was elected to a full six-year term in 1984 without opposition.

Since then, Bruce Schroeder has been re-elected seven times without facing an opponent, most recently in 2020.

Bruce Schroeder has been the subject of controversy during his judicial career.

Bruce Schroeder developed a reputation for being "no-nonsense" and tough on defendants in court and in sentencing.

Bruce Schroeder first came to national attention while presiding over the murder trial of Kenosha County resident Mark Jensen.

Schroeder initially ruled that he would admit the evidence at trial, but following the US Supreme Court decision in Crawford v Washington, Schroeder ruled that several of these letters, voicemails, and conversations were inadmissible because they amounted to "testimonial" evidence by a witness who could not be questioned by the defense, thus creating a violation of the defendant's sixth amendment right to question his accusers.

Bruce Schroeder sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Bruce Schroeder ruled that Schroeder's evidentiary decision had violated Jensen's sixth amendment rights and ordered a new trial.

Bruce Schroeder was not re-assigned to the case when it was re-tried.

Bruce Schroeder was again in the national spotlight in 2021 for presiding over the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who fatally shot two men during the unrest in Kenosha in August 2020.

Prosecutor Thomas Binger reckoned that Bruce Schroeder had already admonished him thousands of times for calling someone a "victim" in other trials.

Bruce Schroeder was accused of being harsh towards prosecutor Binger by raising his voice and admonishing him, telling Binger a line of his questioning threatened to undermine Rittenhouse's right to remain silent.

Bruce Schroeder married court clerk Donna Jean Lane on September 30,1972, at the St James Catholic Church in Kenosha.