Milton Childs, Sr. a supervisor in the State Public Defender’s Office, has been appointed to the circuit court bench in Milwaukee County.
Gov. Tony Evers’ office announced Childs’ selection Tuesday, October 29, 2019. He will fill the seat vacated when Evers picked Joseph Donald for the District 1 Court of Appeals. Donald replaced Kitty Brennan, who retired.
Childs’ “vast experience as a public defender and his diverse professional background will bring a valuable perspective to the bench,” Evers said in a news release.
Childs, 55, was born and raised in Milwaukee and taught math for 12 years after graduating from Xavier University. He also served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, departing with the rank of sergeant.
He said he got interested in the law while in court to support one of his students who had gotten in some trouble. He enrolled in Marquette’s night program and continued teaching for the 4 1/2 years it took to get his juris doctor degree in 2003.
“At times I thought it was kind of crazy. But I had a very supportive wife and children,” he said.
After law school, Childs said he worked in the state public defender’s Sheboygan office, then briefly in private practice before rejoining the agency in Racine. He later returned to Milwaukee, where he is the attorney/manager for the unit that handles mental health commitments.
He said he didn’t know as of Tuesday when he would begin the new job or to which branch he would be assigned. “I have no preference,” he said. “I’m just honored for the opportunity. ”
Childs who was a Milwaukee Times 2014 Black Excellence honoree in Law, will be on the ballot in the spring 2020 election.