Rudolph T. Randa

Rudolph T. Randa (born July 25, 1940) is an American jurist who serves as an Article III United States (federal) judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Randa is currently the Chief Judge of the Court serving as the Court's lead judicial administrative officer in conjunction with the clerk of that Court. Randa has served in that capacity since 2002. His term as Chief Judge expired in October 2009.

Education
Randa was born July 25, 1940 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was a graduate of Milwaukee Riverside High School, with honors. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, receiving academic honors and graduating as a distinguished military graduate in 1963. Randa received his juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1966. Randa was in the same graduating class as former Governor of Wisconsin, Tommy G. Thompson.

Military service
From 1967 to 1969, Randa served in the U.S. Army as a Company Commander during the Vietnam War. Randa served with distinction, earning the Bronze Star Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 5 campaign stars, and the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. The first three were awarded by the United States Army and the last awarded by the Republic of Vietnam.

Legal career
After Vietnam, Randa was appointed to the U.S. Attorney General's Office in Washington. In 1970, Randa returned to Milwaukee. From 1970 to 1973, Randa served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Milwaukee. In 1973, Randa became the Principal City Attorney for Milwaukee. Randa represented the city of Milwaukee in two major civil rights cases filed by individual plaintiffs, the United States Department of Justice and the NAACP alleging a pattern and practice of discrimination based on race and national origin in the Milwaukee fire and police departments. These suits resulted in consent decrees.

In 1975, Randa was elected Municipal Judge in Milwaukee. In 1979, Randa was elected Circuit Judge for Milwaukee County. He was appointed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in 1981. Randa was re-appointed Circuit Judge and re-elected Circuit Judge in 1983, where he served until 1992. He also served tempus semestre on the 4th District Court of Appeals in 1983/1984 and 1984/1985.

In 1992, Randa was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to become a federal district judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Randa's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on August 11, 1992 on unanimous consent. Randa succeeded Judge Robert Warren. Randa served as Chief Judge of the District from 2002-2009.

In 2002, Randa was appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist to serve on the Codes of Conduct Committee of the U.S. Judicial Conference. He served on the Codes of Conduct Committee until 2008.

Significant Rulings
In 1995, Randa ruled that the 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinics Entrances Act was unconstitutional in banning "nonviolent, physical obstruction of reproductive health services clinics." Randa ruled that Congress could not use its constitutional authority under the Commerce Clause to regulate abortion protests, "a private activity wholly intrastate in character, non-violent by description and definition, without any commercial aspect, the control of which historically and traditionally rested within the domain of local and state authorities, and which has no direct effect on interstate commerce but instead affects an activity found by Congress to be within 'the stream of interstate commerce . . .'" Randa's ruling, which contradicted the prevailing view in favor of expansive federal authority under the commerce clause, was reversed by the Seventh Circuit.

In 2001, Randa ruled that children in foster care have enforceable federal rights to a speedy adoption and can sue a state for failing to make them legally available for adoption as required under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA). The ruling in Jeanine B v. McCallum was the first court ruling to fully examine the rights of children to sue under ASFA and whether those federal rights impose binding obligations on a state.

In 2009, in Flying J. v. Van Hollen, Randa ruled that Wisconsin's minimum markup of 9.18% on gasoline as required by the Unfair Sales Act was unconstitutional. Randa ruled that this provision creates an illegal restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, and that the illegal restraint was not actively supervised by the State. Randa enjoined the State from further enforcement of the law. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that he would not appeal the decision. The Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association ("WPMCA") moved to intervene post-judgment and to appeal Randa's ruling. In 2010 the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled Randa's decision and found Wisconsin's Unfair Sales Act to be constitutional.

Also in 2009, Randa ordered that prison officials in Wisconsin's primary female correctional facility must make significant changes in the distribution and administration of medication to prisoners. For years, medication was distributed by correctional officials without medical training in the context of an error-prone system. Randa ordered that Wisconsin must begin using licensed practical nurses or medical personnel with equivalent training to distribute and administer prescriptions. Randa also ordered that correctional officials begin to process medication orders and dispense and administer prescribed medications in a timely, accurate and reliable manner.

In 2010, Randa ruled that a bond indenture agreement executed by the Lake of the Torches Economic Development Corporation was void because it was a gaming facility management contract unapproved by the National Indian Gaming Commission. As a consequence, the waiver of the Corporation's sovereign immunity in the indenture was also void, so Randa dismissed an action to enforce the indenture for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit agreed that the indenture was an unapproved management contract, but remanded for further proceedings to determine whether any collateral documents could support the waiver of sovereign immunity.