Daniel Kelly is an American attorney and former judge who served as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice from August 1, 2016 through August 1, 2020. He was appointed by Wisconsin GovernorScott Walker to fill the unexpired term of Justice David Prosser. Before he was appointed by Walker, Kelly was a conservative attorney who defended Walker's legislation, including a 2011 redistricting plan that was struck down by the lower federal courts. The lower federal courts' decisions were reversed on appeal.
Kelly is a commercial litigator and founding partner of Rogahn Kelly LLC. Before starting the firm, Kelly was a shareholder at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, s.c. in Milwaukee. Kelly is a member of The Federalist Society, the Wisconsin State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, and the President's Council of Carroll University. He has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and Wisconsin Supreme Court. Kelly represented state Republicans in a federal trial over a lawsuit challenging the 2010 redrawing of legislative districts. Kelly was previously vice president and general counsel for the Kern Family Foundation, a philanthropic family foundation that invests in programs to support entrepreneurship, education, work, and character.
Wisconsin Supreme Court
After the announcement of the nearing retirement of Justice Prosser, in 2016, Kelly was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to serve as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Under Wisconsin law, the seat would come up for election on the next spring election when no other Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was up for election. Justice Kelly ran for a full term on the court when it came up for election in 2020, but was defeated by Wisconsin Circuit Court judge Jill Karofsky. Justice Kelly's term in office is scheduled to end July 31, 2020. On his defeat, Kelly said, "It has been the highest honor of my career to serve the people of Wisconsin on their Supreme Court these past four years. Obviously I had hoped my service would continue for another decade, but tonight’s results make clear that God has a different plan for my future."
Views
After Obama's 2012 re-election win, Kelly said his re-election was a win for the “socialism/same-sex marriage/recreational marijuana/tax increase crowd.” Kelly has likened Social Security to slavery. He has argued that U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, was illegitimate. In 2014, Kelly wrote that slavery and affirmative action were, under the law, morally the same. Kelly wrote that both institutions "spring from the same taproot" and that "neither can exist without the foundational principle that it is acceptable to force someone into an unwanted economic relationship."
Personal life
Kelly is married and has five children. Kelly and his family reside in North Prairie, Wisconsin.
Electoral history
Kelly was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Scott Walker in 2016 for a term expiring in 2020. He lost his bid for election to a full term on the court to Dane County Circuit Court Judge Jill Karofsky. Justice Kelly had been endorsed by President Donald Trump.
