Wisconsin Circuit Courts
From Judgepedia
The Wisconsin Circuit Courts are the state of Wisconsin's trial courts. Currently, there are 241 circuit court judges in Wisconsin.
Contents |
Overview
The circuit courts are divided into branches with at least one branch in every county; with the exception of six counties that are paired off and share judges. The paired counties are: Buffalo/Pepin, Florence/Forest, and Shawano/Menominee. The first two pairs are each staffed by a single judge who travels between the courthouses; Menominee County is a federal reservation and both judges for this circuit are located in Shawano. Of the remaining circuits, 27 have a single judge and the largest circuit is Milwaukee County with 47 judges.[1]
Judges by County
- Adams County Circuit Court Judge Charles Pollex
- Ashland County Circuit Court Judge Robert Eaton
- Barron County Circuit Court Judge James Babler and Judge Timothy Doyle
- Bayfield County Circuit Court Judge John Anderson
- Brown County Circuit Court Judge William Atkinson, Chief Judge Sue Bischel, Judge Timothy Hinkfuss, Judge Kendall Kelley, Judge John Dennis McKay, Judge Peter Joseph Naze, Judge Mark Warpinski, Judge Donald Zuidmulder
- Buffalo/Pepin counties Circuit Court Judge James Duvall
- Burnett County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gableman
- Calumet County Circuit Court Judge Donald Poppy
- Chippewa County Circuit Court Judge Roderick Cameron, Judge Thomas Sazama
- Clark County Circuit Court Judge Jon Counsell
- Columbia County Circuit Court Judge Daniel George, Judge James Miller, Judge Alan White
- Crawford County Circuit Court Judge Michael Kirchman
- Dane County Circuit Court Judge John Albert, Judge Steven Ebert, Judge Patrick Fiedler, Judge David Flanagan, Chief Judge C. William Foust, Judge Shelley Gaylord, Judge William Hanrahan, Judge John Markson, Judge James Martin, Judge Daniel Moeser, Judge Diane Nicks, Judge Richard Niess, Judge Michael Nowakowski, Judge Sarah O'Brien, Judge Stuart Schwartz, Judge Maryann Sumi (one vacancy on the court exists as of the court's records on April 1, 2008)
- Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Bissonnette, Judge Daniel Klossner, Chief Judge John Storck
- Door County Circuit Court Judge Peter Diltz, Judge D. Todd Ehlers
- Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek, Judge Michael Thomas Lucci
- Dunn County Circuit Court Judge Rod Smeltzer, Judge William Stewart Jr
- Eau Claire County Circuit Court Judge William Gabler, Judge Paul Lenz, Chief Judge Benjamin Proctor, Judge Michael Schumacher, Judge Lisa Stark
- Florence County Circuit Court Judge Robert Kennedy Jr
- Fond du Lac County Circuit Court Judge Dale English, Judge Peter Grimm, Judge Richard Nuss, Judge Steven Weinke, Judge Robert Wirtz
- Forest County Circuit Court Judge Robert Kennedy Jr
- Grant County Circuit Court Judge George Curry, Judge Robert Van De Hey
- Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer
- Green Lake County Circuit Court Judge William McMonigal
- Iowa County Circuit Court Chief Judge William Dyke
- Iron County Circuit Court Judge Patrick John Madden
- Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Laabs
- Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Jacqueline Erwin, Judge William Hue, Judge Randy Koschnick, Judge John Ullsvik
- Juneau County Circuit Court Judge John Roemer
- Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge David Mark Bastianelli, Judge Barbara Ann Kluka, Judge Anthony Milisauskas, Judge Bruce Schroeder, Judge Mary Wagner-Malloy, Judge Wilbur Warren, III, Judge S. Michael Wilk
- Kewaunee County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Mleziva
- La Crosse County Circuit Court Judge Todd Bjerke, Judge Ramona Gonzalez, Judge Elliott Levine, Judge Dale Pasell, Judge Scott L. Horne
- Lafayette County Circuit Court Judge William Johnston
- Langlade County Circuit Court Judge Fred Kawalski
- Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hartley, Judge Jay Tlusty
- Manitowoc County Circuit Court Chief Judge Darryl Deets, Judge Jerome Fox, Judge Patrick Willis
- Marathon County Circuit Court Chief Judge Dorothy Bain, Judge Patrick Brady, Judge Gregory Grau, Judge Vincent Howard, Judge Gregory Huber
- Marinette County Circuit Court Judge Tim Duket, Judge David Miron
- Marquette County Circuit Court Judge Richard Wright
- Menominee/Shawano counties Circuit Court Judge Thomas Grover, Judge James Habeck
- Milwaukee County Circuit Court The largest county court in Wisconsin, Milwaukee's court includes 46 judges and one vacancy (accroding to the website's data as of 4/1/08). See the link to the court's page for a full list of those judges.
- Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Michael McAlpine, Judge Todd Ziegler
- Oconto County Circuit Court Judge Richard Delforge, Judge Michael Judge
- Oneida County Circuit Court Judge Mark Mangerson, Judge Patrick O'Melia
- Outagamie County Circuit Court Judge John Des Jardins, Judge Nancy Krueger, Judge Dee Dyer, Judge Harold Froehlich, Judge Michael Gage, Judge Mitchell Metropulos, Judge Mark McGinnis
- Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul Malloy, Judge Joseph McCormack, Judge Tom Wolfgram
- Pepin/Buffalo counties Circuit Court Judge James Duvall
- Pierce County Circuit Court Judge Robert Wilfred Wing
- Polk County Circuit Court Judge Molly GaleWyrick, Judge Robert Rasmussen
- Portage County Circuit Court Judge John Finn, Judge Frederic Fleishauer, Judge Thomas Flugaur
- Price County Circuit Court Judge Douglas Fox
- Racine County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Barry, Judge Charles Constantine, Judge Faye Flancher, Judge John Jude, Judge Richard Kreul, Judge Wayne Marik, Judge Emily Mueller, Chief Judge Gerald Paul Ptacek, Judge Stephen Simanek, Judge Allan Torhorst
- Richland County Circuit Court Judge Edward Ernest Leineweber
- Rock County Circuit Court Judge R. Alan Bates, Judge Michael Byron, Judge James Daley, Judge Daniel Dillon, Judge Kenneth Forbeck, Judge James Welker, Judge Richard Werner
- Rusk County Circuit Court Judge Frederick Henderson
- St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge Eric Lundell, Judge Scott Needham, Judge Edward Vlack
- Sauk County Circuit Court Judge James Evenson, Judge Guy Reynolds, Judge Patrick Taggart
- Sawyer County Circuit Court Judge Norman Yackel
- Shawano/Menominee Counties Circuit Court Judge Thomas Grover, Judge James Habeck
- Sheboygan County Circuit Court Judge James Bolgert, Judge Terence Bourke, Judge Gary Langhoff, Judge L. Edward Stengel, Judge Timothy Van Akkeren
- Taylor County Circuit Court Judge Ann Knox-Bauer
- Trempealeau County Circuit Court Judge John Damon
- Vernon County Circuit Court Judge Michael Rosborough
- Vilas County Circuit Court Judge Neal Nielsen, III
- Walworth County Circuit Court Judge [[James Carlson, Judge Michael Gibbs, Judge Robert Kennedy, Judge John Race
- Washburn County Circuit Court Judge Eugene Harrington
- Washington County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Faragher, Judge Andrew Gonring, Judge James Muehlbauer, Judge David Resheske
- Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Michael Bohren, Chief Judge J. Mac Davis, Judge Lee Dreyfus, Judge Kathryn Foster, Judge Mark Gempeler, Judge Donald Hassin, Judge Patrick Haughney, Judge James Kieffer, Judge Robert Mawdsley, Judge Ralph Ramirez, Judge Paul Reilly, Judge Linda Van De Water
- Waupaca County Circuit Court Judge John Hoffmann, Judge Raymond Huber, Judge Philip Kirk
- Waushara County Circuit Court Judge Guy Dutcher
- Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge William Carver, Judge Tom Gritton, Judge Barbara Hart Key, Judge Bruce Schmidt, Judge Karen Seifert, Judge Scott Woldt
- Wood County Circuit Court Judge James Mason, Judge Gregory Potter, Judge Edward Zappen Jr
Judicial administrative districts
The state’s 72 counties are grouped into 10 judicial administrative districts. In each district there is a chief judge appointed by the Supreme Court. The chief judge, who may serve up to three consecutive two-year terms, supervises and directs the administration of the district. In carrying out these duties, the chief judge is charged by Supreme Court rule to cooperate with the director of state courts.
Each chief judge appoints a deputy chief judge to act in the event of his or her absence or unavailability. A professional district court administrator and a court management assistant, both employees of the director of state courts and permanently located in the district, assist the chief judge. The chief judges meet monthly as a committee, as do the district court administrators.
Clerks of circuit court are independently elected, constitutional officers who work in close cooperation with the chief judges, district court administrators, and staff of the Director of State Courts Office. The clerks provide management and administrative leadership in each circuit and are indispensable to the effective functioning of Wisconsin’s circuit courts.
Funding
The circuit courts are funded with a combination of state and county money. State funds are used to pay the salaries of the judges, official court reporters, and reserve judges (retired judges who are assigned to hear cases when the need arises). The state also funds travel and training for the judges.
By law, the counties are responsible for all other operating costs except those enumerated by statute. For those exceptions, which include among other things the costs of providing guardians ad litem (court-appointed attorneys), court-appointed witnesses, interpreters, and jurors, the state provides assistance in the form of statutory formula grants.
