2015
Brown County Circuit Court judge selected to head Committee of Chief Judges
Madison, Wisconsin - August 12, 2015
Chief Judge Donald R. Zuidmulder, Brown County Circuit Court, has been selected by fellow chief judges from across the state to chair the Committee of Chief Judges. Zuidmulder replaces outgoing chair Judge Jeffrey A. Kremers, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, who served the maximum three two-year terms as a chief judge.
Zuidmulder has been a judge since 1997 and has served as chief judge of the Eighth Judicial Administrative District since 2010. The Eighth District encompasses Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette, Oconto, Outagamie and Waupaca counties. Before joining the bench, Zuidmulder served 22 years in private practice. He also previously served as Brown County district attorney, and as an assistant state attorney general.
Zuidmulder has been a member of the Criminal Jury Instruction Committee of the Judicial Conference, and the Judicial Conduct Advisory Committee. He established Brown County’s drug treatment court, mental health treatment court and heroin treatment court, as well as encouraged the establishment of the Northeast Wisconsin Veterans Treatment Court, which serves all counties in the Eighth District.
The Committee of Chief Judges consists of one chief judge from each of the state’s 10 judicial administrative districts. The chair, informally known as “the chief of the chiefs,” presides over approximately seven committee meetings per year.
Working as a team with a deputy chief judge and a professional court administrator, chief judges help manage the flow of cases, supervise personnel, develop budgets, and meet to address issues of significance to circuit court judges throughout the state. As needed, the chief judges convene subcommittees to consider issues and problems facing the trial courts.
Kremers remains on the bench in Milwaukee County, where he has served as a circuit court judge since 1992.
More information about the Committee of Chief Judges, including a list of current chief judges and deputy chief judges can be found at: http://www.wicourts.gov/courts/committees/chiefjudges.htm
Contact:
Tom Sheehan
Court Information Officer
(608) 261-6640