Wisconsin will have one new Supreme Court justice, two new Court of Appeals’ judges and 11 new circuit court judges Aug. 1, as a result of the April 4 Spring Election. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet C. Protasiewicz defeated former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly for a 10-year term on the Supreme Court. Milwaukee private practice Atty. Sara J. Geenen defeated incumbent Chief Judge William W. Brash III for a spot on the District I Court of Appeals, and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Chris L. Taylor was unopposed for the District IV Court of Appeals to replace retiring Judge Michael R. Fitzpatrick.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler was elected by the Court to a second two-year term as chief justice, effective May 1, 2023. Chief Justice Ziegler was first elected to the Court in 2007 and became chief justice in 2021, succeeding former Chief Justice Patience Drake Roggensack in that role.
Retiring Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Drake Roggensack was honored by her fellow justices, and received a standing ovation in the Supreme Court Hearing Room today, just moments before the start of the final oral argument scheduled for the Court’s 2022-23 term.
Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler thanked and recognized Justice Roggensack for her leadership as former chief justice and for her many years of public service.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed judges from La Crosse, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties to serve as new chief judges of their respective judicial administrative districts, and the Court re-appointed a chief judge from Green County to another two-year term.
The Wisconsin court system’s Office of Management Services has launched a new recruiting and job resources effort in the Madison area through a partnership with the Madison Public Library. The main goal for this program is to provide a benefit to the community. However, the court system has a unique opportunity to benefit from this partnership, as well, by allowing access to a wider range of recruiting resources and labor data and statistics.
Court security officials and staff from a dozen states, gathered in Appleton for the 2023 Court Safety and Security Conference hosted by the National Criminal Justice Training Center at Fox Valley Technical College March 15-17. The conference featured sessions on topics, such as security screening, protests, de-escalation strategies, and personal safety at home and while traveling.
First District Court Administrator Holly Szablewski will become Deputy Director for Court Operations, replacing retiring Diane Fremgen on June 4. Before becoming district court administrator in 2014, Szablewski spent 13 years as Milwaukee County’s Judicial Review Coordinator. She also previously worked in pretrial service programming for a private non-profit agency.
Chief Judge Ashley, Triggiano discuss Milwaukee courts in hand-off interview
Incoming First District Chief Judge Carl Ashley, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, and outgoing Chief Judge Mary Triggiano, were interviewed together for a WISN-TV news segment that aired April 14. They discussed working with each other over the years and some of the challenges facing the courts, such as staffing shortages, a criminal case backlog, and youth crime trends.
Ashley, the first African-American man to serve as a chief judge in Wisconsin, started in his new role April 15. Triggiano resigned from the circuit court to become director of Marquette University Law School's Andrew Center for Restorative Justice. The interview and related article can be found here.
