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The Wisconsin Supreme Court today appointed District One Court of Appeals Judge Maxine A. White as chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, effective Aug. 1, 2023. White will replace current Chief Judge William Brash III, who lost his bid for re-election to the First District bench in April. White will fill Brash’s unexpired term as chief judge to July 31, 2024.

White has more than 30 years’ experience as a Wisconsin judge. She has served on the Court of Appeals since 2020, when she was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of former District I Court of Appeals Judge Joan F. Kessler. White served as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge from her appointment to that bench in 1992, until joining the Court of Appeals.

During her tenure on the circuit court, the Supreme Court appointed White chief judge of the First Judicial Administrative District (Milwaukee County) in 2015 and reappointed her to that position in 2017. She served as chair of the Committee of Chief Judges for a one-year term, ending in 2018. She had previously served as the First Judicial Administrative District’s deputy chief judge.

White is the first woman of color to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She has served in a variety of leadership roles, including as presiding judge of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court Family Division, as a director of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, and as a member of its executive committee. She previously served as chair of the Wisconsin Committee on Judicial Selection, the Governor’s Task Force on Racial Profiling and as co-chair of the Supreme Court Special Committee on Gender Neutrality. She served on the Wisconsin Judicial Council from 2008 to 2014.

Brash was appointed to the District I Court of Appeals in 2015 after serving on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court from 2001 to 2015. He is former presiding judge of the Milwaukee County Civil/Probate Division and previously served as municipal judge for the Village of Fox Point and as a reserve municipal judge.

In addition to maintaining a caseload, the Court of Appeals chief judge handles a variety of administrative duties for the four-district, 16-judge Court of Appeals. Districts are headquartered in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Wausau and Madison. The chief judge works with court administrators and staff on budget matters, case flow management and other administrative matters.