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State Bar of Wisconsin
State Bar of Wisconsin

Latest from Wisconsin Justice Initiative Blog

By Erik Reinthaler, WJI Intern

On a Thursday morning in July, people trickled into Racine Municipal Court for a docket made up mostly of traffic and ordinance violations. Some seemed to know where to go and what to do. Others needed to be reminded to check in on a computer near the courtroom entrance. As more people arrived, even other court-goers began pointing newcomers toward the sign-in.

Once court started, cases moved quickly. Defendants came forward, entered their pleas

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Continue Reading Court by Court: Observing Wisconsin’s Municipal Justice System

​”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 A divided Wisconsin Court of Appeals late last month reversed a Dane County judge’s ruling that declared major portions of Act 10 unconstitutional. Act 10, enacted in 2011 under former Gov. Scott Walker, significantly limited collective bargaining rights for most state and local government employees while preserving broader bargaining rights for municipal police officers, firefighters and deputy sheriffs. The appellate court found that Wisconsin lawmakers had a reasonable basis for treating some public safety employees differently from

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Continue Reading District 2 Court of Appeals upholds Act 10

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Note: We are crunching Supreme Court of Wisconsin decisions down to size. The rule for this is that no justice gets more than 10 paragraphs as written in the actual decision. The “upshot” and “background” sections do not count as part of the 10 paragraphs because of their summary and necessary nature. We’ve also removed citations from the opinion for ease of. Italics indicate WJI insertions. Emphasis in the original is italicized and underlined.

Case: Wisconsin State Legislature v.

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Continue Reading The SCOW Docket: Attorney General Controls Settlement Funds

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The Milwaukee Common Council meeting on July 31, 2026. Photograph by Alexandria Staubach.
By Alexandria Staubach

Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission candidate Jordan Morales failed to obtain enough votes for confirmation at a Milwaukee Common Council meeting this morning after some alders shared concerns about his seeming complacency with the status quo.

The confirmation failed in a 6-6 tie with three alders abstaining.

The surprising vote comes after Morales was recommended by the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee last

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Continue Reading Milwaukee Common Council Dismisses Fire and Police Commission Candidate

Milwaukee is again facing a nearly $100 million dollar gap between what it wants to fund and the cash it will have in the coming year.Despite the shortfall, the Milwaukee Police Department’s budget is likely to significantly increase.

Proposed areas for cuts include election operations and civic engagement, library hours, sanitation and street maintenance.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson is seeking input from city residents as his office works to close the $96 million dollar gap. The city has posted

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Continue Reading Milwaukee Mayor Asks Residents to Weigh In on Budget Cuts as MPD’s Share of Expenditures Swells

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Milwaukee County’s Aaron Hertzberg speaking at WJI’s Salon on July 15, 2026, at Turner Hall in Milwaukee. Photograph by Margo Kirchner.

Aaron Hertzberg, Milwaukee County’s Executive Director of Administrative Services, spoke at Wisconsin Justice Initiative’s July 15 Salon about plans to replace Milwaukee County’s 100‑year‑old Public Safety Building. Hertzberg and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Chief Judge Carl Ashley spearhead the Investing in Justice: Courthouse Complex project, aimed at replacing the Safety Building with a modern, efficient, and safe justice

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Continue Reading Plans to Replace Milwaukee County’s Safety Building

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

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​By Erik Reinthaler
WJI Intern

The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued three decisions at the end of June addressing different aspects of Wisconsin’s laws concerning mental health involuntary commitment and treatment. The cases—State v. N.K.B., Outagamie County v. M.J.B., and Waukesha County v. R.D.T.—involved involuntary medication, statutory deadlines in civil commitment proceedings, and appeals from expired recommitment orders.

Although the cases arose in different contexts, each turned on the same question: how the statutory framework applies when procedures governing competency

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Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules in Three Cases about Involuntary Commitment and Treatment

​”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: Nathan Petrashek

Appointed to: Court of Appeals District 1

Appointment date: Feb. 27, 2026, to term ending July 31, 2027

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Continue Reading Evers’ Judges: Nathan Petrashek

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

Wisconsin has important elections coming up on Aug. 11 (primary) and Nov. 3 (general), with strict photographic identification requirements in place by law. Now is the time to make sure you, your family members, friends, and even acquaintances have a valid ID for voting. Check your own documents and let others know about the services VoteRiders provides for those who need help obtaining an acceptable voting ID.
By Erik Reinthaler
WJI InternAlthough for many eligible Wisconsin voters bringing

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Continue Reading Take action now and spread the word: VoteRiders helps Wisconsinites overcome voting barriers

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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

​”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: Whitney A. Healy

Appointed to: Outagamie County Circuit Court

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

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Continue Reading Evers’ Judges: Whitney A. Healy

Note: We are crunching Supreme Court of Wisconsin decisions down to size. The rule for this is that no justice gets more than 10 paragraphs as written in the actual decision. The “upshot” and “background” sections do not count as part of the 10 paragraphs because of their summary and necessary nature. We’ve also removed citations from the opinion for ease of reading but have linked to important cases cited or information about them. Italics indicate WJI insertions except

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Continue Reading The SCOW docket: Court strikes down education grant program for minority students