Former justices
Justice Patience Drake Roggensack
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice: 2003–2023Chief Justice: 2015–2021
Life: 1940–
Justice Patience Drake Roggensack was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2003 and re-elected in 2013, completing her second 10-year term upon retirement on July 31, 2023.
On May 1, 2015, she became the first justice chosen by members of the Court to serve as chief justice. She was re-elected to serve as chief justice May 1, 2017 and May 1, 2019. Justice Roggensack was the first Court of Appeals judge to have been elected to the Supreme Court.
Born in Joliet, Ill., Justice Roggensack received a bachelor's degree in biology from Drake University. She worked as a research associate at several universities prior to entering the University of Wisconsin Law School, where she graduated with honors in 1980.
Before joining the Supreme Court, Justice Roggensack was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1996 and re-elected in 2002. Prior to becoming a judge, Justice Roggensack practiced law for 16 years in state and federal courts.
Justice Roggensack is a past commissioner of the Uniform Laws Commission and Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. She has served as chairperson of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, chairperson of the Commission on Children and Families, chairperson of PPAC, chairperson of the Supreme Court Finance Committee and a member of the Committee for Public Trust and Confidence in the Courts. She is a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, and the Western District of Wisconsin Bar Association, of which she is a past president.
Justice Roggensack is a member of the International Women's Forum, and a past president of the Wisconsin chapter. She is a frequent guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Marquette University Law School and many state and national organizations.
She also has served on the board of directors and was a past member of the YWCA of Madison, the YMCA of Madison, the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth, and the Olbrich Botanical Gardens.
Justice Roggensack is married and has three children.