May 17, 2017 – He sits on the bench of the busiest trial court in Wisconsin, and according to his peers, he handles it with dignity and grace.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Frederick Rosa is the recipient of the 2017 Judge of the Year Award, presented by the State Bar of Wisconsin Bench and Bar Committee.

A native of a tough neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, Judge Rosa earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Vermont. When it came time for law school, he chose Marquette. “They have a solidly ranked law school,” he said. Plus, there’s the Milwaukee Bucks, too. “It was a really good decision.”

He chose law because it is “a job where you get paid for talking” and where you can fight for what you’re passionate about. Growing up on the tail end of the civil rights era, he realized that many gains in society are accomplished through the court system.

After graduating in 1984, he worked at the Legal Aid Society in Milwaukee and New York, then went on to practice primarily in family law. Elected to Milwaukee County’s Branch 35 in 2004, he was a little surprised to be assigned to general misdemeanors for his first year. “I was a fish out of water,” he said. But that’s the way he likes it – it was challenging, and something new to master.

Gun Court

He is now in his second year of a new assignment: gun court, handling nonfatal shootings. With its high-volume, high-profile cases, and the violent nature of the crimes, it is the most challenging calendar in Wisconsin.

“It’s a tough assignment,” Judge Rosa said. “There’s a lot of guns out there, and there’s a lot of young people with anger – so the guns come out. Gun violence is now as bad as I ever remember. We have a lot of court and law enforcement resources dedicated to this so it doesn’t become worse.”

Many defendants and victims are African-American – and they all notice that it is an African-American man who sits on the bench. “It makes a difference,” Judge Rosa said.

He makes a point to explain everything to the defendants. “That’s the most important thing when people go through the process: they ought to be treated with respect, irrespective of what they’ve done,” he said. “They should be listened to and treated fairly, even if it doesn’t go their way.”

It is not an easy thing to impose the severe sentences required of the crimes committed. “It’s the hardest part of the job,” he said. It is emotionally draining, and complicated, with many forces from the community coming in from different directions. “It’s been a challenging assignment,” Judge Rosa said. His work is a team effort. “I receive a lot of support – from other judges, lawyers, and staff. My staff is the best in the world,” he said. “As busy as we are, I’m thankful they haven’t quit!”

Judge Rosa has been a voice of reason in the ocean of chaos that exists on the streets of Milwaukee.

– Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro

A Voice of Reason

He handled gun court so well that Chief Judge Maxine White assigned him to the court for a second year, said Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Yamahiro. “Fred Rosa has been a voice of reason in the ocean of chaos that exists on the streets of Milwaukee, where these cases come from. He is certainly among the best that the Wisconsin judiciary has to offer.”

Judge Rosa is “remarkable as a person and judge,” said Judge Marry Triggiano, and he handles the busy schedule of the gun court with dignity and grace. “He firmly believes that access to justice should always be a high priority, and he works every day to achieve that for his community.”

“I was floored,” Judge Rosa said, to be the recipient of the Judge of the Year Award.

A bass guitar player, Judge Rosa uses music as a catharsis. “Music is a wonderful way to relieve stress,” Judge Rosa said.

And, off the bench, he has the loving support of his family, including his wife, Kathy Jones-Rosa, a public school teacher; two children, Frederick and Keyla; and a twin brother, Benjamin, who looks so much like him that people often mistake one for the other. “When I was sworn in, he came to my investiture, and people kept mixing us up, shaking his hand and saying ‘congratulations.’ After a while, he just said ‘Thanks.’”