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 chief Succeeded Notes Start End Start End 1836 1848 1836 1848 New seat Appointed by Andrew Jackson. 1836 1838 New seat Appointed by Andrew Jackson. Died in office. 1836 1848 New seat Appointed by Andrew Jackson. 1838 1848 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 chief Succeeded Notes Start End Start End 1848 1851 1848 1851 New seat Elected in 1848 1853 1851 1851 New seat Elected in 1848 1853 1852 1853 New seat Elected in 1848 1853 New seat Elected in 1848 1853 New seat Elected in 1850 1853 New seat Elected in 1851 1853 Alexander W. Stow Elected in

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 seats in 1878, and to its current size of seven justices 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 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 chief Succeeded Notes Start End Start End 1853 1859 1853 1859 New seat Elected (as chief justice) 1852, 1857.Died in office. 1853 1855 New seat Elected 1852.Lost re-election in 1855. 1853 1859 New seat Elected 1852. 1855 1892 1880 1892 (as justice) (as chief justice) Elected 1855.Appointed chief justice by William E. Smith.Elected (as chief justice) 1881. 1859 1874 1859 1874 Appointed chief justice by Alexander Randall.Elected (as chief justice) 1860, 1863, 1868, 1869.Resigned. 1859 1864 Elected 1859.Resigned. 1864 1867 Appointed by James T. Lewis.Elected 1865.Resigned. 1867 1871 Appointed by Lucius Fairchild.Elected 1868.Died in office. 1871 1894 1892 1894 Appointed by Lucius Fairchild.Elected 1871, 1877, 1883.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1874 1880 1874 1880 Appointed chief justice by William Robert Taylor.Elected (as chief justice) 1875.Died in office. 1878 1891 New seat Elected 1878, 1885. 1878 1895 1894 1895 New seat Elected 1877, 1887.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1880 1907 1895 1907 Appointed by William E. Smith.Elected 1881, 1889, 1899.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1891 1920 1907 1920 Appointed by George Wilbur Peck.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1892 1898 Elected 1891. Resigned. 1894 1898 Elected 1893. Died in office. 1895 1918 Appointed by William H. Upham.Elected 1897, 1907.Lost election in 1917. 1898 1903 Appointed by Edward Scofield.Died in office. 1898 1910 Appointed by Edward Scofield.Elected 1899, 1901. Resigned. 1903 1922 1920 1922 Appointed by Robert M. La Follette.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1905 1921 New seat Elected 1904. Died in office. 1907 1916 New seat Elected 1906. Died in office. 1908 1908 Appointed by James O. Davidson.Lost election in 1908. 1908 1916 Elected 1908, 1909. Resigned. 1910 1929 1922 1929 Appointed by James O. Davidson.Elected 1911, 1921.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1916 1950 1929 1950 Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp.Elected 1919, 1929, 1939.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1916 1929 Elected 1916; appointed to begin early.Re-elected 1916.Died in office. 1918 1934 Elected 1917, 1927. Died in office. 1920 1926 Appointed by Emanuel L. Philipp.Elected 1922. 1921 1929 Appointed by John J. Blaine.Resigned. 1922 1930 Appointed by John J. Blaine.Elected 1923.Died in office. 1926 1930 Elected 1925.Died in office. 1929 1948 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr.Elected 1930, 1931, 1941.Died in office. 1929 1954 1950 1954 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr.Elected 1934, 1944.Chief justice by seniority rule.Resigned. 1929 1957 1954 1957 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr.Elected 1936, 1946.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1930 1949 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr.Elected 1933, 1943.Died in office. 1930 1942 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Sr.Elected 1935. 1934 1934 Appointed by Albert G. Schmedeman. Died in office. 1934 1946 Appointed by Albert G. Schmedeman.Elected 1937. Died in office. 1942 1948 Appointed by Julius P. Heil (after Heil had lost re-election).Elected 1945.Died in office. 1946 1947 Appointed by Walter Samuel Goodland.Lost election in 1947. 1948 1951 Elected in 1947.Resigned. 1948 1962 1957 1962 Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm.Elected 1950, 1951.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1948 1962 1962 1962 Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm.Elected 1952, 1955.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1949 1964 1962 1964 Appointed by Oscar Rennebohm.Elected 1953.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1950 1956 Elected in 1949.Died in office. 1951 1968 1964 1968 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr.Elected in 1957.Chief justice by seniority rule.Lost re-election in 1967. 1954 1958 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr.Elected 1954.Resigned. 1956 1959 Appointed by Walter J. Kohler Jr.Lost election in 1958. 1957 1966 Elected 1956, 1966.Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th Circuit. 1958 1974 1968 1974 Appointed by Vernon Wallace Thomson.Elected 1959, 1969.Chief justice by seniority rule.Resigned. 1959 1964 Elected 1958.Died in office. 1962 1967 Elected 1961.Resigned; appointed U.S. dist. judge, E.D.Wis. 1962 1976 1974 1976 Appointed by Gaylord Nelson.Elected 1964, 1974.Chief justice by seniority rule.Died in office. 1964 1983 1976 1983 Elected 1963, 1973.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1964 1995 1983 1995 Appointed by John W. Reynolds Jr.Elected 1965, 1975, 1985.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1966 1978 Appointed by Warren P. Knowles.Elected 1968. 1967 1980 Appointed by Warren P. Knowles.Elected 1970. 1967 1977 Elected 1967. 1974 1996 1995 1996 Appointed by Patrick Lucey.Elected 1976, 1986.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1976 2019 1996 2015 Appointed by Patrick Lucey.Elected 1979, 1989, 1999, 2009.Chief justice by seniority rule. 1977 1992 Elected 1977, 1987.Resigned. 1978 1982 Elected 1978.Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th circuit 1980 1999 Elected 1980, 1990.Resigned. 1982 1993 Appointed by Lee S. Dreyfus.Elected 1984. 1983 2003 Elected 1983, 1993. 1992 2007 Appointed by Tommy Thompson.Elected 1997. 1993 1998 Appointed by Tommy Thompson.Elected 1994.Resigned. 1995 2025 2025 2025 Elected 1995, 2005, 2015.Chief justice by court majority. 1996 2015 Elected 1996, 2006.Died in office. 1998 2016 Appointed by Tommy Thompson.Elected 2001, 2011.Resigned. 1999 2004 Appointed by Tommy Thompson.Elected 2000.Resigned; appointed judge, U.S. 7th circuit 2003 2023 2015 2021 Elected 2003, 2013.Chief justice by court majority. 2004 2008 Appointed by Jim Doyle.Lost election in 2008. 2007 Current 2021 2025 Elected 2007, 2017.Chief justice by court majority. 2008 2018 Elected 2008. 2015 2026 Appointed by Scott Walker.Elected 2016. 2016 2020 Appointed by Scott Walker.Lost election in 2020. 2018 Current Elected 2018. 2019 Current Elected 2019. 2020 Current 2025 Current Elected 2020.Chief justice by court majority. 2023 Current Elected 2023. 2025 Current Elected 2025. 2026 Current Elected 2026.

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).

References