Former justices
Justice David T. Prosser, Jr.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice: 1998–2016Life: 1942–
Justice David T. Prosser Jr. was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Tommy G. Thompson in 1998, elected to a 10-year term in 2001 and reelected in 2011.
Born in Chicago, Justice Prosser was raised in Appleton, Wis., and received his bachelor's degree from DePauw University in 1965 and his law degree from the UW Law School in 1968.
Before joining the court, Justice Prosser served on the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission where he conducted hearings and issued decisions on disputes related to Wisconsin taxation.
Justice Prosser was appointed to the Tax Appeals Commission following an 18-year career in the Wisconsin Legislature where he represented the Appleton area in the Assembly from 1979 through 1996. During his tenure, he served six years as Assembly minority leader and two years as Assembly Speaker. For 16 years, he was a legislative member of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. He was reappointed to the Commission by Assembly Speakers in 2005-07 and 2012-present.
Prior to his election to the Assembly, Justice Prosser served as Outagamie County district attorney. He also worked in Washington, D.C., first as an attorney/advisor in the Office of Criminal Justice, U.S. Department of Justice, then as administrative assistant to U.S. Rep. Harold Froehlich, a member of the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate impeachment inquiry. Justice Prosser served on the Supreme Court Planning and Policy Advisory Committee's Court Financing Subcommittee (2002-04), Judicial Council of Wisconsin (2002-06), the Supreme Court Citation of Unpublished Opinions Committee (2009), and Rules Procedure Committee (2010-11).
He retired from the Supreme Court, effective July 31, 2016.