Judge Charged With Disorderly Conduct

Waukesha County judge charged with disorderly conduct
The Journal Sentinel by Jesse Garza  -  April 6, 2011

Police cite outburst at ex-beau in Caledonia

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Linda Van De Water has been charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly kicking and jumping on her ex-boyfriend's car after confronting him outside the home of another woman, according to a criminal complaint. Van De Water, 48, frantically pounded on the door of the woman's neighbor while looking for the man and tore through the residential neighborhood in a sport utility vehicle at a high rate of speed after the confrontation. She was later caught lurking in the woman's yard and confronting the ex-boyfriend and the woman at a Brookfield restaurant, according to the complaint. A copy of the complaint, filed March 25 in Racine County Circuit Court, was obtained Wednesday. Van De Water has an unlisted number and could not be reached for comment.

According to the complaint: About 2 a.m. Jan. 16, Van De Water began pressing the doorbell and pounding on the front door of a residence in Caledonia. A woman who lived there said Van De Water, wearing a puffy coat and plaid pajamas tucked into her boots, was outside looking into the home through a front window. When the woman answered the door, Van De Water, "angry, frantic and determined," asked for the man. When the woman said he wasn't there, Van De Water asked her to dial the man's number on a cellphone. The woman dialed the number twice, each time handing the phone to Van De Water, who demanded the man come outside. After leaving, Van De Water went to a second residence before approaching a car and kicking it four times. After she walked away, the man came out of the second residence, got into the car and began making a U-turn. At that point, Van De Water emerged, jumped on the hood of the car and started screaming at the man. The man then opened the driver's door and pushed Van De Water away when she came at him, flailing her arms, according to the complaint. The man then headed east and Van De Water followed him in an SUV before turning back and heading up the street at between 35 and 45 mph, according to the complaint. The next day, a man in the neighborhood saw Van De Water in the other woman's backyard. That evening, Van De Water confronted the woman and the ex-boyfriend at a Brookfield restaurant, according to the complaint. If convicted, Van De Water could be sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,000. The disorderly conduct charge is a misdemeanor offense.