Charles B. Schudson

Charles B. Schudson is a Wisconsin Reserve Judge Emeritus, an Adjunct Professor of Law, and President of KeynoteSeminars, LLC.

Judge Schudson graduated from Dartmouth College (Phi Beta Kappa), where he was a Senior Fellow, and from the Wisconsin Law School (Law Review). He served as a state and federal prosecutor (1975-82), a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge (1982-92), a Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge (1992-2004), Senior Counsel at von Briesen & Roper, s.c. (2004-06), and General Counsel of La Causa, Inc. (2006-09). Judge Schudson’s honors include the U.S. Justice Department’s Award for Superior Performance, the Wisconsin Child Abuse Prevention Certificate of Special Achievement, Career Youth Development’s “Wisconsin Judge of the Year,” the 1998 National Human Rights Leadership Award, the 2000 Foundation for Improvement of Justice Award, and the 2004 National Exchange Club Book of Golden Deeds Award. In 2009-14, Judge Schudson served as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching courses at: Justus Liebig University Law School in Giessen, Germany; and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú Law School in Lima, Peru.

Judge Schudson has authored hundreds of published appellate opinions and other works including On Trial / America’s Courts and Their Treatment of Sexually Abused Children (Beacon Press: 1989; 2d ed., 1991); and Independence Corrupted / How America’s Judges Make Their Decisions (University of Wisconsin Press, 2018). He has keynoted conferences throughout the world, and testified before congressional committees on battered women, the impact of unemployment on children and families, and child sexual abuse. He has been a featured guest on numerous shows including The McNeil-Lehrer Report and Oprah.

For many years, Judge Schudson served on the faculties of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and the National Judicial College. In 2007, he was the Law and Literature Scholar in Residence at Lawrence University. He taught “Trial Advocacy” at the University of Wisconsin Law School, 1999-2009, and "Preparing Lawyers for Life," a course he created, at both Wisconsin and the Marquette University Law School, 2007-09. A member of the National Association of State Judicial Educators, he specializes in law and literature seminars for judges.

Judge Schudson teaches in both English and Spanish. In 2005, he was the Scholar in Residence at Universidad Diego Portales Law School in Santiago, Chile. In 2006, was an international observer for the presidential election in Venezuela. In 2007-18, he lectured on child sexual abuse at conferences and law schools in Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, and Peru.

Judge Schudson is a certified mediator and a litigation/appellate consultant. He is married to Karen Schudson, a marriage/family therapist and mediator, and executive coach. They have two sons and three wonderful grandchildren.