Court of Appeals

Judge Harry G. "Spike" Snyder accepted a direct commission in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate upon his graduation from Marquette University Law School. During his active duty tour at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, he was designated a NATO Trial Observer by the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Turkey, authorized to assist United States citizens who had legal problems with the Turkish authorities. After leaving active military duty, Judge Snyder served as the Staff Judge Advocate for the 440th Tactical Airlift Wing (Reserve), General B. Mitchell Field, and as a USAF Military Judge (Reserve), until his military retirement in 1991.

Prior to taking the bench, Judge Snyder was a Waukesha County Assistant District Attorney for two years and was in the private practice of law in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, for eleven years. While in private practice, he served six years in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a State Representative, representing portions of Waukesha and Jefferson counties.

During his brief legislative career, Judge Snyder played an active role in the creation of the present Wisconsin court system. In 1975, Snyder was one of three State Representatives on the Legislative Conference Committee that approved the final constitutional resolution resulting in the 1978 court reorganization and the creation of the Court of Appeals. Judge Snyder offered no apology for his direct involvement in creating the court that he retired from and was privileged to serve on for nineteen years.

Judge Snyder served as a circuit court judge in Waukesha County from December 8, 1980, until he was appointed to the Court of Appeals on October 1, 1991. He retired from the bench on July 31, 2010, four-months, eight-days short of thirty-years. According to Judge Snyder, "Enough is enough!"

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