# List of justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court

This is a list of justices who have served or are currently serving on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

## Territorial judges

| Judge | Term as justice | Term as justice | Term as chief | Term as chief | Succeeded | Notes |
| Judge | Start | End | Start | End | Succeeded | Notes |
| Charles Dunn | 1836 | 1848 | 1836 | 1848 | New seat | Appointed by Andrew Jackson. |
| William C. Frazer | 1836 | 1838 | | | New seat | Appointed by Andrew Jackson. Died in office. |
| David Irvin | 1836 | 1848 | | | New seat | Appointed by Andrew Jackson. |
| Andrew G. Miller | 1838 | 1848 | | | William C. Frazer | Appointed by Martin Van Buren. |

## Circuit justices serving as Supreme Court justices

Initially, Wisconsin's Supreme Court was just composed of the five judges of the five state judicial circuits. A sixth circuit was added in 1850.
| Judge | Term as justice | Term as justice | Term as chief | Term as chief | Succeeded | Notes |
| Judge | Start | End | Start | End | Succeeded | Notes |
| Alexander W. Stow | 1848 | 1851 | 1848 | 1851 | New seat | Elected in 4th circuit. |
| Levi Hubbell | 1848 | 1853 | 1851 | 1851 | New seat | Elected in 2nd circuit. |
| Edward V. Whiton | 1848 | 1853 | 1852 | 1853 | New seat | Elected in 1st circuit. |
| Charles H. Larrabee | 1848 | 1853 | | | New seat | Elected in 3rd circuit. |
| Mortimer M. Jackson | 1848 | 1853 | | | New seat | Elected in 5th circuit. |
| Wiram Knowlton | 1850 | 1853 | | | New seat | Elected in 6th circuit. |
| Timothy O. Howe | 1851 | 1853 | | | Alexander W. Stow | Elected in 4th circuit. |

## Justices since 1853

In 1853, a separate Wisconsin Supreme Court was created with all members elected state-wide. Initially the court was three members; it grew to five justices in 1878, and to its current size of seven seats in 1907. Initially, the chief justice and associate justices were separate offices elected by the public, but a constitutional amendment ratified in 1889 converted all members of the court to "justices" and deemed that the "chief justice" would always be the justice who had served longest on the court (seniority). 126 years later, another constitutional amendment changed the selection rules for chief justice, abolishing the "seniority" rule, and instead mandating that the justices of the court would elect a chief justice from their members every two years.
| Judge | Term as justice | Term as justice | Term as chief | Term as chief | Succeeded | Notes |
| Judge | Start | End | Start | End | Succeeded | Notes |
| Edward V. Whiton | 1853 | 1859 | 1853 | 1859 | New seat | Elected (as chief justice) 1852, 1857. Died in office. |
| Samuel Crawford | 1853 | 1855 | | | New seat | Elected 1852. Lost re-election 1855. |
| Abram D. Smith | 1853 | 1859 | | | New seat | Elected 1852. |
| Orsamus Cole | 1855 | 1892 | 1880 | 1892 | S. Crawford | Elected 1855. Appointed chief justice by William E. Smith Elected (as chief justice) 1881. |
| Luther S. Dixon | 1859 | 1874 | 1859 | 1874 | E. V. Whiton | Appointed chief justice by Alexander Randall. Elected (as chief justice) 1860, 1863, 1868, 1869. Resigned. |
| Byron Paine | 1859 | 1864 | | | A. D. Smith | Elected 1859. Resigned. |
| Jason Downer | 1864 | 1867 | | | B. Paine | Appointed by James T. Lewis. Elected 1865. Resigned. |
| Byron Paine | 1867 | 1871 | | | J. Downer | Appointed by Lucius Fairchild. Elected 1868. Died in office. |
| William P. Lyon | 1871 | 1894 | 1892 | 1894 | B. Paine | Appointed by Lucius Fairchild. Elected 1872, 1877, 1883. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Edward George Ryan | 1874 | 1880 | 1874 | 1880 | L. S. Dixon | Appointed chief justice by William Robert Taylor. Elected (as chief justice) 1875. Died in office. |
| David Taylor | 1878 | 1891 | | | New seat | Elected 1878, 1885. |
| Harlow S. Orton | 1878 | 1895 | 1894 | 1895 | New seat | Elected 1878, 1887. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| John B. Cassoday | 1880 | 1907 | 1895 | 1907 | E. G. Ryan | Appointed by William E. Smith. Elected 1881, 1889, 1899. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| John B. Winslow | 1891 | 1920 | 1907 | 1920 | D. Taylor | Appointed by George Wilbur Peck. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| Silas U. Pinney | 1892 | 1898 | | | O. Cole | Elected 1891. Resigned. |
| Alfred W. Newman | 1894 | 1898 | | | W. P. Lyon | Elected 1893. Died in office. |
| Roujet D. Marshall | 1895 | 1918 | | | H. S. Orton | Appointed by William H. Upham. |
| Charles V. Bardeen | 1898 | 1903 | | | A. W. Newman | Appointed by Edward Scofield. Died in office. |
| Joshua Eric Dodge | 1898 | 1910 | | | S. U. Pinney | Appointed by Edward Scofield. Resigned. |
| Robert G. Siebecker | 1903 | 1922 | 1920 | 1922 | C. V. Bardeen | Appointed by Robert M. La Follette. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| James C. Kerwin | 1905 | 1921 | | | New seat | Elected. Died in office. |
| William H. Timlin | 1907 | 1916 | | | New seat | Elected. Died in office. |
| Robert McKee Bashford | 1908 | 1908 | | | J. B. Cassoday | Appointed by James O. Davidson. Lost election. |
| John Barnes | 1908 | 1916 | | | R. M. Bashford | Elected. Resigned. |
| Aad J. Vinje | 1910 | 1929 | 1922 | 1929 | J. E. Dodge | Appointed by James O. Davidson. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| Marvin B. Rosenberry | 1916 | 1950 | 1929 | 1950 | J. Barnes | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Franz C. Eschweiler | 1916 | 1929 | | | W. H. Timlin | Elected 1916; appointed to begin early. Died in office. |
| Walter C. Owen | 1918 | 1934 | | | R. D. Marshall | Elected. Died in office. |
| Burr W. Jones | 1920 | 1926 | | | J. B. Winslow | Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp. |
| Christian Doerfler | 1921 | 1929 | | | J. C. Kerwin | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Resigned. |
| Charles H. Crownhart | 1922 | 1930 | | | R. G. Siebecker | Appointed by John J. Blaine. Elected 1923. Died in office. |
| E. Ray Stevens | 1926 | 1930 | | | B. W. Jones | Elected. Died in office. |
| Chester A. Fowler | 1929 | 1948 | | | A. J. Vinje | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr. Died in office. |
| Oscar M. Fritz | 1929 | 1954 | 1950 | 1954 | C. Doerfler | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr. Chief justice by seniority rule. Resigned. |
| Edward T. Fairchild | 1929 | 1957 | 1954 | 1957 | F. C. Eschweiler | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| John D. Wickhem | 1930 | 1949 | | | C. H. Crownhart | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr. Died in office. |
| George B. Nelson | 1930 | 1942 | | | E. R. Stevens | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr. |
| Theodore G. Lewis | 1934 | 1934 | | | W. C. Owen | Appointed by Albert G. Schmedeman. Died in office. |
| Joseph Martin | 1934 | 1946 | | | T. G. Lewis | Appointed by Albert G. Schmedeman. Died in office. |
| Elmer E. Barlow | 1942 | 1948 | | | G. B. Nelson | Elected. Died in office. |
| James Ward Rector | 1946 | 1947 | | | J. Martin | Appointed by Walter Samuel Goodland. Lost election. |
| Henry P. Hughes | 1948 | 1951 | | | J. W. Rector | Elected. Resigned. |
| John E. Martin | 1948 | 1962 | 1957 | 1962 | C. A. Fowler | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Grover L. Broadfoot | 1948 | 1962 | 1962 | 1962 | E. E. Barlow | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| Timothy Brown | 1949 | 1964 | 1962 | 1964 | J. D. Wickhem | Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Edward J. Gehl | 1950 | 1956 | | | M. B. Rosenberry | Elected. Died in office. |
| George R. Currie | 1951 | 1968 | 1964 | 1968 | H. P. Hughes | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr. Chief justice by seniority rule. Lost re-election. |
| Roland J. Steinle | 1954 | 1958 | | | O. M. Fritz | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr. Resigned. |
| Emmert L. Wingert | 1956 | 1959 | | | E. J. Gehl | Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr. Lost election. |
| Thomas E. Fairchild | 1957 | 1966 | | | E. T. Fairchild | Elected. Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th Circuit. |
| E. Harold Hallows | 1958 | 1974 | 1968 | 1974 | R. J. Steinle | Appointed by Vernon Wallace Thomson. Chief justice by seniority rule. Resigned. |
| William H. Dieterich | 1959 | 1964 | | | E. L. Wingert | Elected. Died in office. |
| Myron L. Gordon | 1962 | 1967 | | | J. E. Martin | Elected. Resigned; appointed U.S. dist. judge, E.D.Wis. |
| Horace W. Wilkie | 1962 | 1976 | 1974 | 1976 | G. L. Broadfoot | Appointed by Gaylord Nelson. Chief justice by seniority rule. Died in office. |
| Bruce F. Beilfuss | 1964 | 1983 | 1976 | 1983 | T. Brown | Elected. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Nathan S. Heffernan | 1964 | 1995 | 1983 | 1995 | W. H. Dieterich | Appointed by John W. Reynolds Jr. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Leo B. Hanley | 1966 | 1978 | | | T. E. Fairchild | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles. Elected 1968. |
| Connor Hansen | 1967 | 1980 | | | M. L. Gordon | Appointed by Warren P. Knowles. Elected 1970. |
| Robert W. Hansen | 1967 | 1977 | | | G. R. Currie | Elected 1967. |
| Roland B. Day | 1974 | 1996 | 1995 | 1996 | E. H. Hallows | Appointed by Patrick Lucey. Elected 1976, 1986. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| Shirley S. Abrahamson | 1976 | 2019 | 1996 | 2015 | H. W. Wilkie | Appointed by Patrick Lucey. Elected 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009. Chief justice by seniority rule. |
| William G. Callow | 1977 | 1992 | | | R. W. Hansen | Elected 1977. Resigned. |
| John L. Coffey | 1978 | 1982 | | | L. B. Hanley | Elected 1978. Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th circuit |
| Donald W. Steinmetz | 1980 | 1999 | | | C. Hansen | Elected 1980, 1990. Resigned. |
| Louis J. Ceci | 1982 | 1993 | | | J. L. Coffey | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus. |
| William A. Bablitch | 1983 | 2003 | | | B. F. Beilfuss | Elected 1983, 1993. |
| Jon P. Wilcox | 1992 | 2007 | | | W. G. Callow | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. Elected 1997. |
| Janine P. Geske | 1993 | 1998 | | | L. J. Ceci | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. Resigned. |
| Ann Walsh Bradley | 1995 | Current | | | N. Heffernan | Elected 1995, 2005, 2015. |
| N. Patrick Crooks | 1996 | 2015 | | | R. B. Day | Elected 1996, 2006. Died in office. |
| David T. Prosser | 1998 | 2016 | | | J. P. Geske | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. Elected 2001, 2011. Resigned. |
| Diane S. Sykes | 1999 | 2004 | | | D. W. Steinmetz | Appointed by Tommy Thompson. Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th circuit |
| Patience D. Roggensack | 2003 | 2023 | 2015 | 2021 | W. A. Bablitch | Elected 2003, 2013. Chief justice by court majority. |
| Louis B. Butler | 2004 | 2008 | | | D. S. Sykes | Appointed by Jim Doyle. Lost election. |
| Annette Ziegler | 2007 | Current | 2021 | Current | J. P. Wilcox | Elected 2007, 2017. Chief justice by court majority. |
| Michael Gableman | 2008 | 2018 | | | L. B. Butler | Elected 2008. |
| Rebecca Bradley | 2015 | Current | | | N. P. Crooks | Appointed by Scott Walker. Elected 2016. |
| Daniel Kelly | 2016 | 2020 | | | D. T. Prosser | Appointed by Scott Walker. Lost election. |
| Rebecca Dallet | 2018 | Current | | | M. Gableman | Elected 2018. |
| Brian Hagedorn | 2019 | Current | | | S. Abrahamson | Elected 2019. |
| Jill Karofsky | 2020 | Current | | | D. Kelly | Elected 2020. |
| Janet Protasiewicz | 2023 | Current | | | P. Roggensack | Elected 2023. |

## Sources

* Trina E. Gray, Karen Leone de Nie, Jennifer Miller, and Amanda K. Todd, Portraits of Justice: The Wisconsin Supreme Court's First 150 Years, Second Edition (Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2003).