Interview with Steven M. Biskupic: U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Wisconsin.

• Date: 19 November 2007
• Author: Zemlicka, Jack

Byline: Jack Zemlicka

Steven M. Biskupic is not a celebrity. But the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin has seen his name in print plenty throughout the last several years due to an influx of high-profile public corruption cases in the state which have been both revered and reviled by the media and the public.

After 18 years as a federal prosecutor, Biskupic conceded that the criticism and congratulations come with the job, but he says he has never let them influence the way he works a case.

Despite his dedication to his job, Biskupic is not immune to the prevailing political winds which blow out of Washington, D.C. Appointed as U.S. Attorney by President Bush in 2002, Biskupic admitted that his tenure may be coming to an end, pending the results of the 2008 presidential election.

Biskupic took time on Oct. 30 to sit down with Wisconsin Law Journal reporter Jack Zemlicka to discuss the challenges of handling high-profile cases, his potential plans for the future and what the most important part of his job is.

WLJ: How do you handle the inevitable controversy that comes with prosecuting high profile cases like the Frank Jude beating or the Georgia Thompson case?

Biskupic: You know going into any public corruption case or any police corruption case, you are going to have criticism no matter what you do. You just have to sort of accept it. If you are afraid of the criticisms, you're just not going to do it and I don't think that's the right way to do things. Especially in the public corruption and the political things, if you do something or don't do something, you're going to get criticized by people on both sides of the political spectrum. I'd say that just comes with the territory.

WLJ: How...