MADISON, WIS. – Scott C. Blader has taken the oath of office to become the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin. U.S. Attorney Blader was nominated by President Donald Trump on August 3 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 9. He took the oath of office from Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson this afternoon.
“I am honored to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin,” said U.S. Attorney Blader. “I am looking forward to working with the men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and with local, state, and federal officials to meet the serious challenges we face in western Wisconsin, especially drug distribution, violent crimes involving firearms, child exploitation, and human trafficking.”
As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Blader is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Western District of Wisconsin. The Western District consists of the 44 western-most counties of Wisconsin, and includes the cities of Madison, Janesville, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Superior, and Wausau. He will oversee a staff of 53 employees, including 22 attorneys and 31 non-attorney support personnel. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the district, including crimes related to terrorism, narcotics, firearms, child exploitation, human trafficking, financial fraud, and public corruption. The office also represents the United States in affirmative and defensive civil cases, and collects debts owed to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Blader, a Wautoma native, was most recently the District Attorney for Waushara County, a position he held since 2007. As the District Attorney, he assisted in the creation and implementation of the first drug treatment court in Waushara County. He also developed a non-violent offender diversion program, which makes the court system run more efficiently while still holding the offender accountable. During his tenure, he successfully prosecuted thousands of felony and misdemeanor cases. In 2015, Mr. Blader was named Wisconsin Prosecutor of the Year by the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association, and in 2014 he was named Prosecutor of the Year by the Wisconsin Association of Homicide Investigators.
U.S. Attorney Blader received his J.D. in 1999 from the Marquette University School of Law and his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1996. He began his legal career in June 1999 as a private practitioner in Wautoma, Wis.
