Here comes the sub Defendants ask for any judge but Schroeder BY JESSICA HANSEN jhansen@kenoshanews.com One moment, Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce E. Schroeder is assigned a case. The next, defense lawyers file papers to get another judge, any judge, just not Schroeder. After 25 years on the bench, Schroeder has almost stopped wondering why some attorneys deflate at the mere mention of his name. Still, as a giant teddy bear of a man, whom many defense attorneys consider a friend, the aversion to his courtroom is puzzling. "It almost becomes irrational. I've had people file on me who had a traffic ticket for bald tires," Schroeder said. Mark Nielsen, a Racine attorney who occasionally appears before Schroeder, said it's a matter of the myth eclipsing the man. "Schroeder's got this reputation as 'Bruce the Terrible," he said. "It's not true, in my experience." Since August, Schroeder's reputation has created such an imbalance in two local felony courts that a Racine County judge has been assigned to hear Kenosha County cases. Some local attorneys argue that the move disenfranchises Kenosha voters - they voted for Schroeder, not some Racine judge and could punish defendants exercising a legal right. Court officials hope the shift will mean more Kenosha County cases stay See JUDGE, Back page LEXIT KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY BILL SIEL Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Bruce Schroeder talks about a case in his courtroom recently, Schroeder's reputation as being a tough judge has created a problem in the county - so many defendants request to be removed from Schroeder's court that a Racine judge has been brought in to help handle the caseload. a "Tough guys' have swapped cases for years BY JESSICA HANSEN jhansen@kenoshanews.com Racine County Judge Dennis J. Barry laughed when he learned that some lawyers avoid him as much as Kenosha County Judge Bruce E. Schroeder. Supposedly, both are rogue, lock 'em up judges known for scrapping plea deals and angering defense attorneys. "I don't know about that," Barry said. "I just call 'em as I see 'em." Schroeder and Barry have swapped cases for years, each taking the other's cast-offs. It's a calculated move to keep lawyers from switching courts, largely because the two are so similar. "These guys ought to be similar. They were seeds planted in the same pot," said Mark Nielsen, a Racine attorney who has dealt with both men. Barry was an assistant prosecutor in Kenosha when Schroeder was the county's district attorney. After two years as colleagues, Barry went into private practice in Racine, his hometown. By 1978, Barry was Racine's district attorney. Two years after that, he was appointed to replace a retiring judge. He's been on the bench ever since. He was even Dennis heralded as 1997 Barry Judge of the Year by the State Bar of Dennis Barry Wisconsin. Barry has kept Kenosha ties in the nearly 30 years he has been away. He's a member and former vice president of the Italian American Club. He also works on a business outreach team at Carthage College. Earlier this month, Barry was pulled further into Kenosha when he started getting cases substituted from Schroeder; anyone who got Schroeder and asked for a different judge got Barry instead. "I don't see any difference between them," John "Jack" Cabranes, another Racine lawyer, said. Neither man tolerates unacceptable behavior, although the hot buttons for each might vary slightly. Both, he said, are fundamentally fair. "And, like Judge Schroeder, Judge Barry has been known to yell at defendants," Cabranes said. Nielsen sees subtle differences between the judges - mostly in their admonishments. Schroeder, he said, talks about the impact of immorality on policy and society, while Barry cuts to the common sense, the basics of why a certain crime is just plain wrong. Both lawyers say the judges are equitable substitutes for one another, particularly because neither quite lives up to his bad reputation. "Sometimes a guy just gets a rep as a tough guy," Nielsen said.