Frederick Kessler was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly in the 1960s and early 1970s and a circuit and reserve circuit judge in Milwaukee County in the 1970s and early 1980s. He participated in legislative reapportionment in Wisconsin in the 1970s and 1990s, and served on the committee that merged Wisconsin's Circuit and County courts into a single-level trial court system in the 1970s. Born January 11, 1940, he attended public and private schools in Wauwatosa, Wis., and Milwaukee Lutheran High School, Milwaukee, Wis.
In 1955 he was appointed a page in the United States House of Representatives by Representative Clement J. Zablocki. He graduated from Washington, D.C.'s Capitol Page School in 1957. While serving his first two Assembly terms, 1960-62 and 1964-66, Kessler completed a BS in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin (UW), and an LLB from UW's Law School.
Kessler was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly for District 10 in 1960, 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1970. During these years in the Assembly, he was Chairman of the Elections Committee, and a member of the Judiciary, Rules, and Education Committees. He also served on the Governor's Committee to Review Reapportionment Proposals in 1972, which ultimately made recommendations to the state legislature for the reapportionment of Wisconsin's Senate and Assembly districts following the 1970 Census.
While in the Assembly, Kessler authored legislation to abolish surety bonds for criminal defendants, to establish a public defender system in Milwaukee County, and to establish a rotation system in Traffic and Misdemeanor branches of the Milwaukee County Court system. He authored the State Fair Housing Law of 1967. In the 1971 Legislative session he authored an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution which created additional County and Circuit Courts in Milwaukee County.
From 1972 to 1981 Kessler was a Milwaukee County Circuit Judge. In 1978 the Legislative Council appointed him to a committee which prepared legislation merging Wisconsin's Circuit and County courts into a single-level trial court system. From 1983 to 1986 he was both an arbitrator of grievances in the public and private sectors and a Reserve Circuit Judge. From 1986 to 1988 he served again as a Circuit Judge. In 1988 he became a Reserve Circuit Judge, and an arbitrator of grievances for WERC (Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission), the FMCS (Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Society), AAA (American Automobile Association), the Oregon PERB (Public Employment Relations Board), and the Virgin Islands PERB. In November 2004 he was elected to the state Assembly again, this time representing District 12.
Throughout his professional career, Kessler belonged to numerous professional and non-governmental organizations. These include numerous American Bar Association (ABA) committees, including the Committee on Terrorism & Mass Disorders, the Executive Committee, the Legislative Committee, and the Judicial Administration Division's Criminal Justice Committee. He served as a member of the Board of Directors for Milwaukee's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter, and was also an active member of the Wisconsin Bar Association (WBA), the Wisconsin Civil Liberties Union (WCLU), Amnesty International, and the Migrant Labor Lawyers Committee.
Throughout his life, Kessler was involved in numerous civic and religious organizations, including the Wisconsin Correctional Service (member, Board of Directors), Neighborhood House of Milwaukee (member, Board of Directors), the Lutheran Human Relations Association of Wisconsin (member, State Chairman, 1968), the Midtown Neighborhood Association (member), the State Street Advancement Association (member), and the Wisconsin Citizens for One-Man, One-Vote organization (Co-Chairman).
In his papers, Frederick P. Kessler is sometimes referred to as Fredrick, Fred, or by his initials, FPK.
