News

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will sit in special session on Wednesday, April 11 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. to dedicate a portrait of Justice Thomas E. Fairchild, who died February 12 at the age of 94.

Following tradition, Fairchild’s portrait will be placed on permanent display in the Supreme Court offices in the Capitol, where portraits of each deceased justice who has served since 1848 are displayed.

Fairchild served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1956 to 1966. Prior to joining the Court, he served as state attorney general and as a U.S. attorney, and ran twice for U.S. Senate – once against Sen. Alexander Wiley and once against Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

Fairchild’s state service ended in 1966, when he left the Wisconsin Supreme Court to accept an appointment from President Lyndon Johnson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, located in Chicago. He presided there until his retirement in 1981.

Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson will open the ceremony. Atty. John S. Skilton, who worked as a law clerk for Fairchild, will introduce the Fairchild family. Also scheduled to speak are Atty. William M. Conley, Atty. Matthew J. Flynn, and Atty. John R. Sweeney, president of the Dane County Bar Association. Sweeney will present the portrait to the Court.

For more information contact:
Tom Sheehan
Court Information Officer
(608) 261-6640