Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler pays tribute to the late Judge John Roemer during her State of the Judiciary at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, held Nov. 2-4 in Elkhart Lake.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Kingsland Ziegler delivered the State of the Judiciary to nearly 300 judicial officials and court staff at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference, which was held Nov. 2-4 in Elkhart Lake.
The chief justice opened her remarks by honoring the life of the late Judge John Roemer, who was shot and killed in his home on June 3, 2022 by a man whom he had sentenced to prison in 2006.
Roemer, had served 13 years on the Juneau County Circuit Court before his retirement in 2017. He was widely recognized for his generosity, helping others and willingness to share legal knowledge with colleagues.
“Even in retirement, Judge Roemer was service-minded. He worked to improve the lives of others, including his family, friends, and fellow churchgoers. This went well beyond his legal work. One of his fellow judges referred to him as a ‘true Christian gentleman.’”
Chief Justice Ziegler said Roemer appeared to have been targeted for doing his job as a judge, and threats to judges are becoming more frequent. She said judges, lawyers and parties need to be free from threatening behavior and acts of violence in order for the legal system to function properly.
“Judges shouldn’t be intimidated or influenced by threats or acts of violence from people or groups who want to intimidate or harm us, push a cause, subvert the rule of law, or control the outcome of a case. That’s a basic tenet of Judicial Independence.”
Wisconsin State Public Defender Kelli Thompson, second from right, makes a point during a panel discussion entitled “The 6th Amendment and Access to Justice” at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference. Others on the panel, from left, include Hon. Derek Mosley, City of Milwaukee Municipal Court, Atty. Collen Foley, executive director, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, and Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, moderator.
She asked judges to take advantage of education and training opportunities related to personal safety and court security at conferences and online.
The chief justice also gave an update on the felony case backlog, noting that progress is being made, and the number of trials being held has about resumed to pre-pandemic levels.
“We still have a long way to go in recovering from the pandemic, and the situation varies widely by county. But we are making progress, especially in terms of felony case backlogs…,” the Chief Justice said.
The full text of the State of the Judiciary can be found here