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​”Evers’ judges” is our effort to present information about Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the bench. The information is taken from the appointees’ own judgeship applications.

Italics indicate direct quotes from the application.​ Typos, including punctuation errors, come from the original application even though we have not inserted “(sic)” after each one. WJI has left them as is. Asterisks indicate paragraphs deleted due to length of the answer.

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Name: Tanner Brook Kilander

Appointed to: Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Appointment

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Continue Reading Evers’ Judges: Tanner Brook Kilander

By Erik Reinthaler
WJI Intern

Growing opposition to proposed data centers, persistent concerns about the cost of living, and renewed public opinion on Act 10 were among the findings in the latest Marquette University Law School Poll, released Wednesday.

The latest poll gathered information from 838 Wisconsin registered voters from July 8-16.

Poll Director Charles Franklin presented the survey results at an event hosted by Derek Mosley, director of the law school’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and

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Continue Reading Marquette Poll Results Beyond the Governor’s Race

Nearly a year after Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge David Borowski found Milwaukee Municipal Court in contempt for failing to record indigency hearings as ordered, the municipal court has agreed to record all hearings for seven years.

The agreement is part of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by a client of Legal Action of Wisconsin, alleging that the municipal court failed to comply with statutory obligations to record certain hearings.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul R. Van

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Continue Reading Recording Battle Ends: Milwaukee Municipal Court Settles Lawsuit about Failure to Record Poverty Hearings

Posted on July 15, 2026 in Criminal Defense
Being charged with a serious felony in Wisconsin changes your life overnight. While every criminal charge should be taken seriously, some offenses carry penalties that can keep someone in prison for decades or even for the rest of their life.

Wisconsin uses a felony classification system that assigns different maximum penalties based on the crime involved. If they believe the circumstances warrant it, prosecutors may also seek sentence enhancements that increase…
Continue Reading What Crimes Have the Longest Sentences in Milwaukee?

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Interior of an empty courtroom with gavel and sounding block on the desk.

WJI received a report in late June from controversial nonprofit Enough is Enough about reckless driving cases in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, highlighting significant differences in judges’ sentencing patterns.The court watch group, which was the subject of an open letter to the Milwaukee County judiciary last year, advocates against reckless driving and for “stronger measures to protect our communities,” according to its website.

“ENE” was founded after the death of Erin Morgensen, who was killed while a bystander to

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Continue Reading Opinion: New Report Shows Concerning Contrast in Reckless Driving Sentences Among Milwaukee Judiciary

​”Evers’ judges” is our effort to present information about Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the bench. The information is taken from the appointees’ own judgeship applications.

Italics indicate direct quotes from the application.​ Typos, including punctuation errors, come from the original application even though we have not inserted “(sic)” after each one. WJI has left them as is.

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Name: Samuel T. Berg

Appointed to: Walworth County Circuit Court

Appointment date: Nov. 7, 2025, to term ending July 31, 2027

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Continue Reading Evers’ Judges: Samuel T. Berg

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has revoked the licenses of three attorneys this year, and in each case Justice Annette Ziegler wrote identical short concurrences highlighting that when the high court revokes a license, it may not have the effect the public thinks.

“I write separately to point out that in Wisconsin the ‘revocation’ of an attorney’s law license is not truly revocation because the attorney may petition for reinstatement after a period of five years,” said Ziegler in each

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Continue Reading Has Supreme Court Signaled an Upcoming Change to Attorney Discipline?

Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Jill Karofsky last week made good on a November 2025 promise to hold a public hearing regarding judicial recusal rules.

The hearing on June 4 addressed a rule change petition filed by five retired judges regarding recusals related to campaign donations. Sarah B. O’Brien, John W. Markson, Richard G. Niess, J. David Rice, and Richard J. Sankovitz filed the petition in January.

Karofsky opened the public hearing by quoting comments submitted by Wisconsin Justice

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Continue Reading Lengthy Hearing on Proposed Recusal Rule Revision Includes Concerns of Court Transparency and Free Speech

​”Evers’ judges” is our effort to present information about Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the bench. The information is taken from the appointees’ own judgeship applications.

Italics indicate direct quotes from the application.​ Typos, including punctuation errors, come from the original application even though we have not inserted “(sic)” after each one. WJI has left them as is.

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Name: Diane L. Meulemans

Appointed to: Waupaca County Circuit Court

Appointment date: Feb. 5, 2026, to a term ending July 31,

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Continue Reading Evers’ Judges: Diane L. Meulemans

​”Evers’ judges” is our effort to present information about Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the bench. The information is taken from the appointees’ own judgeship applications.

Italics indicate direct quotes from the application.​ Typos, including punctuation errors, come from the original application even though we have not inserted “(sic)” after each one. WJI has left them as is.

Name: David O. Hughes

Appointed to: Kenosha County Circuit Court

Appointment date: Dec. 23, 2025, to term ending July 31,

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Continue Reading Evers’ judges: David O. Hughes

There’s some consensus among lawyers that ethics rules already cover the responsible use of generative artificial intelligence in court submissions, but a recent petition to the Wisconsin Supreme Court is asking for more.

The rule change petition seeks to mandate explicit disclosure to the court and disclosure by the court when generative AI is used in the preparation of everything from court filings to opinions.

The petition was filed by frequent pro se (self-represented) litigant Jay Stone.

Stone’s

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Continue Reading Generative AI Disclosure for Court Documents – Necessary or Redundant?

​”Evers’ judges” is our effort to present information about Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees to the bench. The information is taken from the appointees’ own judgeship applications.

Italics indicate direct quotes from the application.​ Typos, including punctuation errors, come from the original application even though we have not inserted “(sic)” after each one. WJI has left them as is.

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Name: Owen Piotrowski

Appointed to: Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Appointment date: Jan. 7, 2026, (effective Feb. 1, 2026) to term ending

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Continue Reading Evers’ judges: Owen Piotrowski

Just seven judicial races across Wisconsin were contested in yesterday’s elections. You’ve likely already heard about Judge Chris Taylor winning the open Supreme Court seat over Judge Maria Lazar.

No Wisconsin Court of Appeals races were contested, so Judges Joe Donald and Rachel Graham were reelected to Districts 1 and 4 respectively, and newcomer Anthony LoCoco will join the appeals court in District 2.

What happened in the six contested circuit court races? Here are results from the unofficial

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Continue Reading Judicial Elections Roundup: Results from Around the State

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When AI Provides Courtroom Expertise
Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic in every field, but, too often, when it comes to the legal system, it is lawyers’ and judges’ struggles with AI that make news, time after time. But while everyone is talking about “hallucinated” case citations, some are focusing on the other ways AI is entering the courtroom. For decades, expert evidence has required a human witness—a physician, engineer, accountant, or other specialist applying…
Continue Reading When the ‘Expert’ Is an Algorithm

In last week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate debate, Wisconsin Justice Initiative’s legal challenge to the spring 2020 ballot question underlay one of the final questions.

WISN 12 in Milwaukee held and broadcast the debate between Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judges Chris Taylor and Maria Lazar on Thursday, Apr. 2.

About 10 minutes before the end, WISN moderator Matt Smith asked Taylor why she had voted against the constitutional amendment known as Marsy’s Law when she was a state legislator.

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Continue Reading Supreme Court debate includes reference to WJI’s lawsuit challenging the 2020 Marsy’s Law constitutional amendment

Candidates Aaron Marcoux and Angeline Winton-Roe vie for the seat on the Washburn County Circuit Court currently held by Winton-Roe. The election is April 7.

Marcoux is the Washburn County district attorney, having been appointed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2019 and elected to four-year terms in 2020 and 2024. Before then he was an assistant district attorney, and before that an assistant state public defender. He graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 2010. A

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Continue Reading Meet the Candidates for Washburn County Circuit Court