# Wisconsin Court of Appeals

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appellate cases. Published Court of Appeals opinions are considered binding precedent until overruled by the Supreme Court; unpublished opinions are not. The Court hears most appeals in three-judge panels, but appeals of circuit court decisions in misdemeanor, small claims, and municipal ordinance cases are decided by a single judge.

## Composition

The Court of Appeals comprises 16 judges elected to six-year terms in four geographic districts. Districts I and II have four judges each, three judges are chambered in District III, and five in District IV. The court is administered by a chief judge, appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, who is assisted by a deputy chief judge and a presiding judge in each district. Vacancies on the court are filled by gubernatorial appointment; following the appointment of a judge, a new election for that seat is scheduled in the next Spring election in which no other Appeals Court seat in that Appeals Court District is up for election, unless that election occurs less than five months from the date of the appointment.

## Districts

* District I is chambered in Milwaukee and contains only Milwaukee County.
* District II is chambered in Waukesha and contains Calumet, Fond du Lac, Green Lake, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, and Winnebago counties.
* District III is chambered in Wausau and contains Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Chippewa, Door, Douglas, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Iron, Kewaunee, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Oneida, Outagamie, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Shawano, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vilas, and Washburn counties.
* District IV is chambered in Madison and contains Adams, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Grant, Green, Iowa, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Marquette, Monroe, Portage, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Vernon, Waupaca, Waushara, and Wood counties.

## Current judges

| Judge | Born | Joined | Term ends | Appointed by | Law school |
| District I ||||||
| Maxine Aldridge White, Chief Judge | 1951 (age 73–74) | February 7, 2020 | 2027 | Tony Evers (D) | Marquette |
| M. Joseph Donald, Deputy Chief Judge | (1959-02-08) February 8, 1959 (age 66) | September 4, 2019 | 2026 | Tony Evers (D) | Marquette |
| Sara Geenen | 1981 or 1982 (age 42–43) | August 1, 2023 | 2029 | — | Wisconsin |
| Pedro Colón | (1968-04-07) April 7, 1968 (age 56) | November 20, 2023 | 2030 | Tony Evers (D) | Wisconsin |
| District II ||||||
| Mark Gundrum, Presiding Judge | (1970-03-20) March 20, 1970 (age 54) | November 4, 2011 | 2025 | Scott Walker (R) | Wisconsin |
| Lisa Neubauer | (1957-07-21) July 21, 1957 (age 67) | January 7, 2008 | 2026 | Jim Doyle (D) | Chicago |
| Shelley Grogan | (1967-08-14) August 14, 1967 (age 57) | August 1, 2021 | 2027 | — | Marquette |
| Maria S. Lazar | 1964 (age 60–61) | August 1, 2022 | 2028 | — | Georgetown |
| District III ||||||
| Lisa K. Stark, Presiding Judge | (1957-03-15) March 15, 1957 (age 67) | April 23, 2013 | 2025 | Scott Walker (R) | Wisconsin |
| Thomas Hruz | (1973-11-12) November 12, 1973 (age 51) | August 1, 2014 | 2028 | Scott Walker (R) | Marquette |
| Gregory Gill | (1975-02-26) February 26, 1975 (age 50) | August 1, 2021 | 2027 | — | Marquette |
| District IV ||||||
| JoAnne Kloppenburg, Presiding Judge | (1953-09-05) September 5, 1953 (age 71) | August 1, 2012 | 2030 | — | Wisconsin |
| Brian Blanchard | (1958-11-07) November 7, 1958 (age 66) | August 1, 2010 | 2028 | — | Northwestern |
| Rachel A. Graham | (1976-06-07) June 7, 1976 (age 48) | July 4, 2019 | 2026 | Tony Evers (D) | Wisconsin |
| Jennifer E. Nashold | 1965 (age 59–60) | August 1, 2019 | 2025 | — | Wisconsin |
| Chris Taylor | (1968-01-13) January 13, 1968 (age 57) | August 1, 2023 | 2029 | — | Wisconsin |
* ↑ Terms end on July 31.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Took office after being elected in a nonpartisan election.
* ↑ Judge Stark was initially elected in the 2013 spring election. Governor Walker then appointed Stark to the vacant seat, allowing her to begin her term 3 months earlier than scheduled.

## Judges
### District I

| Judge | District | Start year | End year | Notes |
| Robert C. Cannon | I | 1978 | 1981 | Presiding Judge (1978–1979) |
| John A. Decker | I | 1978 | 1984 | Chief Judge (1978–1983) |
| William R. Moser | I | 1978 | 1992 | Presiding Judge (1985–1992) Presiding Judge (1979–1983) |
| Rudolph T. Randa | I | 1981 | 1982 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus Elevated to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin |
| Michael T. Sullivan | I | 1984 | 1996 | |
| Charles B. Schudson | I | 1992 | 2004 | |
| Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. | I | 1982 | 1988 | Presiding Judge (1983–1985) |
| Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. | I | 1992 | 2008 | Presiding Judge (1993–2007) |
| Ralph Adam Fine | I | 1988 | 2014 | |
| Patricia Curley | I | 1996 | 2016 | Presiding Judge (2007–2016) |
| Joan Kessler | I | 2004 | 2020 | |
| Kitty Brennan | I | 2008 | 2019 | Appointed by Jim Doyle |
| Rebecca Bradley | I | 2015 | 2015 | Appointed by Scott Walker |
| William Brash | I | 2015 | 2023 | Appointed by Scott Walker Chief Judge (2021–2023) Presiding Judge (2019–2021) Lost re-election |
| Timothy Dugan | I | 2016 | 2023 | Appointed by Scott Walker |
| Joe Donald | I | 2019 | | Appointed by Tony Evers Presiding Judge (2021-Present) |
| Maxine Aldridge White | I | 2020 | | Appointed by Tony Evers Chief Judge (2023–present) |
| Sara J. Geenen | I | 2023 | | |
| Pedro Colón | I | 2023 | | Appointed by Tony Evers |

### District II

| Judge | District | Start year | End year | Notes |
| Harold M. Bode | II | 1978 | 1981 | |
| Clair H. Voss | II | 1978 | 1983 | Presiding Judge (1978–1983) |
| Richard S. Brown | II | 1978 | 2015 | Chief Judge (2007–2015) Presiding Judge (1996–2001) Presiding Judge (1983–1990) |
| Burton A. Scott | II | 1980 | 1991 | Chief Judge (1983–1989) |
| Neal Nettesheim | II | 1983 | 2007 | Appointed by Tony Earl Deputy Chief Judge (1998–2007) Presiding Judge (2001–2003) Presiding Judge (1990–1993) |
| Daniel P. Anderson | II | 1990 | 2011 | Presiding Judge (2007–2009) Presiding Judge (2003–2005) Presiding Judge (1993–1996) |
| Harry G. Snyder | II | 1991 | 2010 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson Presiding Judge |
| Lisa S. Neubauer | II | 2007 | | Appointed by Jim Doyle Chief Judge (2015–2021) Presiding Judge (2009–2015) |
| Paul F. Reilly | II | 2010 | 2022 | Presiding Judge (2015–2021) |
| Mark Gundrum | II | 2011 | | Appointed by Scott Walker Presiding Judge (2021–present) |
| Brian Hagedorn | II | 2015 | 2019 | Appointed by Scott Walker Elevated to Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| Jeffrey O. Davis | II | 2019 | 2021 | Appointed by Tony Evers Lost re-election |
| Shelley Grogan | II | 2021 | | |
| Lori Kornblum | II | 2022 | 2022 | Appointed by Tony Evers Lost re-election |
| Maria S. Lazar | II | 2022 | | |

### District III

| Judge | District | Start year | End year | Notes |
| W. Patrick Donlin | III | 1978 | 1981 | |
| John P. Foley | III | 1978 | 1984 | Presiding Judge (1981–1984) |
| Robert W. Dean | III | 1978 | 1986 | Presiding Judge (1978–1981) |
| Thomas Cane | III | 1981 | 2007 | Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus Chief Judge (1998–2007) Deputy Chief Judge (1989–1998) Presiding Judge (1984–1998) |
| Daniel L. LaRocque | III | 1985 | 1997 | Appointed by Tony Earl |
| Gordon Myse | III | 1986 | 1999 | Appointed by Tony Earl Presiding Judge (1998–1999) |
| Michael W. Hoover | III | 1997 | 2015 | Deputy Chief Judge (2012–2015) Presiding Judge (1999–2015) |
| Gregory A. Peterson | III | 1999 | 2007 | Deputy Chief Judge (2007–2012) |
| Edward R. Brunner | III | 2007 | 2011 | |
| Mark Mangerson | III | 2011 | 2014 | Appointed by Scott Walker |
| Lisa K. Stark | III | 2013 | | Appointed by Scott Walker Deputy Chief Judge (2015–present) Presiding Judge (2015–present) |
| Thomas F. Hruz | III | 2014 | | Appointed by Scott Walker |
| Mark Seidl | III | 2015 | 2021 | |
| Greg Gill | III | 2021 | | |

### District IV

| Judge | District | Start year | End year | Notes |
| Martha Bablitch | IV | 1978 | 1985 | |
| Paul C. Gartzke | IV | 1978 | 1996 | Presiding Judge (1978–1996) |
| Charles P. Dykman | IV | 1978 | 2010 | Presiding Judge (2009–2010) Presiding Judge (1996–2001) |
| William Eich | IV | 1985 | 2000 | Appointed by Tony Earl Chief Judge (1989–1998) |
| Robert D. Sundby | IV | 1986 | 1996 | |
| Margaret J. Vergeront | IV | 1994 | 2012 | Presiding Judge (2010–2011) |
| Patience D. Roggensack | IV | 1996 | 2003 | Elevated to Wisconsin Supreme Court |
| David G. Deininger | IV | 1996 | 2007 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson Presiding Judge (2003–2005) |
| Paul Lundsten | IV | 2000 | 2019 | Appointed by Tommy Thompson Presiding Judge (2017–2019) Presiding Judge (2011–2013) Presiding Judge (2005–2007) |
| Paul B. Higginbotham | IV | 2003 | 2017 | Appointed by Jim Doyle Presiding Judge (2007–2009) |
| Burnie Bridge | IV | 2007 | 2010 | Appointed by Jim Doyle |
| Gary Sherman | IV | 2010 | 2019 | Appointed by Jim Doyle |
| Brian Blanchard | IV | 2010 | | Presiding Judge (2021-present) Presiding Judge (2013–2015) |
| JoAnne Kloppenburg | IV | 2012 | | Presiding Judge (2015–2017) |
| Michael R. Fitzpatrick | IV | 2017 | 2023 | Presiding Judge (2019-2021) |
| Rachel A. Graham | IV | 2019 | | Appointed by Tony Evers |
| Jennifer E. Nashold | IV | 2019 | | |
| Chris Taylor | IV | 2023 | | |