THE SUPREME COURT MILESTONES IN JUSTICE: A CHRONOLOGY OF THE CASES, EVENTS AND PEOPLE

1836

July: The next term of the Supreme Court is scheduled to be The U.S. Congress establishes the territorial government of held in Madison

Wisconsin on April 20th. The territory comprises what is now comes before the, theCourt, new so capital the term of theis canceled. territory. No business Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. The judiciary consists of a territo- 1837 rial Supreme Court, district courts, probate courts and justices of the peace. The Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and two associate justices, all appointed by the president. The territory is divided into three judicial districts. Each judge July: The Supreme Court meets for the second time in Madison. serves as a district court judge and collectively they also make up Subsequent terms are held annually between 1840 and 1847. the Supreme Court of the Wisconsin territory. When the judges sit are asso-

as the Supreme Court, they hear appeals on their own lower-court 1838 decisions. is the first chief justiceand William of the Supreme Frazer Court of 1840

Charles Dunn David Irvin October-December: 1836 the Wisconsin Territoy. held in Madison. A state constitutional convention is ciate justices. David Irvin is not considered a particularly outstand- state Supreme Court)Edward plays Ryan an influential role in the conven- ing judge. He often adjourns court to shoot prairie chickens. He tion and drafts an article to outlaw(later banking. the chief The justiceconvention of the once said that his horse, Pedro, had more sense than any lawyer amends his article, but still allows only private banking and in his court. The Supreme Court of the territory meets for the precludes out-of-state banks from operating in Wisconsin. 1846 December 8: first time, in Belmont. Only and David Irvin appear. The business is swearing in Henry S. Baird as territorial attorney March: The electorate votes to accept the new constitution. general and admitting 17 attorneys to practice before the Court. May 29: constitutionWisconsin of the new is admitted state creates to the five Union judicial as the circuits 30 and allows the voters of each district to choose a judge. Together, the five cir- cuit judges sit as the Supreme Court in Madison. The constitution The territory voters reject the state constitution. th state. The April : A second constitutional convention is held and a new provides that this arrangement will last for five years, at which time December: the state Legislature can institute a different system. state constitution is drafted.

1847 Edward Whiton, , Mortimer Jackson, Alexander Stow and Charles Larrabee win the first elections to Wisconsin’s five circuit courts. They serve staggered terms of varying lengths. Roll of Attorneys of These judges come together to form the Wisconsin Supreme The five judges sit as Wisconsin’s first state Supreme Court. January 8: has been signed by 1848 Court. Their charge: admitting attorneysRoll to practice before the 1850 Alexander Stow is elected by his fellow judges to be first chief Court. Moses M. Strong. Since is the then, first the to sign the justice of the newly created Supreme Court. He serves more than

two years, but does not run for a second term because he opposes 1849 the Supreme Court an elected judiciary. every attorney admitted to practice law in Wisconsin.Wiram Fellow justice, youngest justice everCharles to serve Larrabee on the Supreme Court. , age 28, becomes the The Legislatureis elected creates judge, a sixth thus judicial making circuit. six justices on Knowlton

Chapter 352 becomes law, creating a Supreme Court composed 1850 the Supreme Court bench. of one chief justice and two associate justices to be elected in September 1852 for six-year terms. This replaces the system where circuit judges collectively serve as the Supreme Court. , a former state Supreme Court Justice and cir- The Supreme Court elections are hotly contested, partisan Levi Hubbell elections.

, Supreme Court chief justice from 1874 to Edward Whiton cuit court judge, is the only justice to face an impeachment tice and Abram Smith and are elected to the 1852 trial. Edward Ryan office of associate justice. is elected to the office of the chief jus-

1880, fiercely argues for his removal. While Ryan is unsuc- 1853 cessful, Hubbell’s character is badly tarnished. The three justices are sworn in and hold the first ses- June: Case sion of a separate . 1854-1859: Crawford, LutherJustices Dixon Abram and OrsamusSmith, Edward Cole, Whiton,and to-be Samuel justices , a staunch states’ rights advocate, is Byron Paine and Edward Ryan, attorneys arguing before the court, play roles in a case questioning the constitutionality of the elected to the Supreme Court. He serves for 37 years, Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

1855 making him the longest-serving justice. runaway slaves and help return them to their owners. Paine Governor argues for the Act to be stricken;, requiring Ryan northernargues to states uphold to thearrest fed- , age 33, is appointed by eral government’s authority. The 1854 state Supreme Court rules to serve as chief justice, making him the Act unconstitutional, with Crawford dissenting. It is suggest- April: Luther Dixon ed that Crawford loses election to the bench as a result of his

Alexander Randall 1860 position in favor of the supremacy of the federal government. 1854-1859

1859 the youngest chief justice in Wisconsin history. Case The records of the proceedings are reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1859 and the federal court reverses the deci- 11 Wis. 248 sion. Justices Cole and Paine (elected to the court in 1859) and Chief Justice Dixon are faced with the decision to file the federal . and Mississippi Railroad, mandate. Paine cannot vote because of his involvement in the Chamberlain v original Cole votes not to file and Dixon votes to file the man- This case represents an early effort of the Supreme Court to ensure dates. With a divided court no action can be taken. The mandate the rights of injured workers. The Court determines thatCase an employer is is never filed. 1860 U.S. 514, Ableman v. Booth liable when the negligence of one employee injures another employee. Ableman v. Booth , 3 Wis. 1, , 11 Wis. 501 Ableman v. Booth , 28 Wis. 544 Case , 62 . Palmer and others Gillespie v In re Kemp, Granting suffrage to black male residents of the state had Military troops16 imprison Wis. 382 Kemp for helping stage a draft riot. The state passed a referendum, but election inspectors argued that Supreme Court rules that the vote was misconstrued. The Supreme Court rules that pend the writ of the election was valid, thereby extending the right to vote process) when marshalhabeas lawcorpusPresident is not in effect. Abraham The LincolnCourt grants Kemp’s

to black men. , a former justice, successfully argues 1870 petition for (which preserves one’s right to due 1863 1866 . Byron Paine habeas corpus can not sus- before the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the suffrage of and orders his release. black male residents of the state in Gillespie The workload on the Supreme Court is greatly expanding, due to a Case flood of personal-injury litigation. The Court has no stenographers, any typewriters or even copyists. Each justice does his own clerical work. To keep up with the calendar, the justices vote to increase the number of cases on assignment to the Court from 15 to 25. . & Northwestern Railroad Comp Edward Ryan Attorney General v attempting to killobjects him with strenuously, labor. accusing his fellow justices of 1870’s 35 Wis. 425 Chief Justice The Supreme Court decides that the state has the authority to regu- late railroads, curtailing the railroads’ ability to arbitrarily set rates for Case freight and passenger fares in each community. Chief Justice Edward Ryan, writing for the Court in

1874 Luther Dixon, saddled with financial problems, resigns from the admit Miss Lavinia Goodell to the Bar of this Cour Wis. 232 (1875), denies Lavinia Goodell’s petition to practice Supreme Court$3,500 and. returns to private practice. His annual salary on the Court is before the Supreme Court claiming the profession ofMotion law to

“unfit” for the female character. Following a legislative actt, 1875-1879 prohibiting the denial of bar admission on the basis of gen-39 A constitutional amendment is ratified by the voters November: der, she applies again and is admitted. Ryan dissents. increasing the number of justices from three to five and increas- Application of Miss Goodell

ing the term from six to ten years. To help maintain the nonpar- , 48 Wis. 693 (1879) 1877 tisan nature of the office, judicial elections are held in April, when no major political campaigns are in progress. Case Case While not a particularly famous or legally significant case, v. Thomp , 71 Wis. 239 1880 heard by courtsson, 46 in Wis.the 19 345 illustrates the type of cases often . Phillips and others regarding an individual’s responsibilityth for the damages causedV Brown v when his dog bit his neighbor’scentury. cow. The justices hear argumentassau

The Supreme Court unanimously declines to expand women’s suf- 1879 frage. The Court narrowly interprets a state statute which gives women the right to vote only on school-related matters. In the opinion, the 1890 Case Court emphasizes that the power to grant suffrage belongs to the State ex rel. W

Legislature. The Supreme Courteiss determinesand others that vs. BibleDistrict reading Board in public schools is 1888 A constitutional amendment is adopted. The most senior mem- April: unconstitutional. Until this point, the King James Bible had been recom- ber of the Supreme Court shall serve as chief justice. Previously, the mended as a textbook by the state superintendent of, schools.etc chief justice was elected to the position, or if there was aCase vacancy, the ., 76 Wis. 177

governor appointed the chief justice in the interim. 1890 , 81 Wis. 440 1900 . Cunningham Attorney General v , 83 Wis. 90 A constitutional amendment is adopted increasing the num- The State ex rel. . Cunningham ber of justices on the Supreme Court from five to seven. The State ex rel. Lamb v The Supreme Court outlaws gerrymandering (drawing creativeCase 1910 1903 1892 The Supreme Court commissions construction of legislative districts to maintain partisan political advantage). . Harrigan v the mahogany bench for the hearing room in the

state capitol at a cost of $965. 1910

Justice Roujetis noted Marshall’s as a “compendium 334 page opinion of legal in lore.” Case

Gilchrist The state Legislature requires judicial elections to be nonparti- 1904 san. However, in 1879, political parties had ceased to select can- any, 147 Wis. 327 didates for judicial elections. . The Falk Comp John Winslow publishes page history of the Wisconsin courts.

Borgnis and others v Story of a Great Court 1912 The Supreme Court upholds a law creating workers’ compensa- , a 400-

1911 tion and strengthens the rights of employees by ruling that the Marvin Rosenberry law covers those in “non-hazardous” trades. , four soldiers, who all later 34 years on the bench,is appointedhe serves 21to theyears Supreme as the Court.chief justice, Out of mak-his During World War I ing him the longest-serving chief justice. become justices, serve together and become 1920 friends: Edward Gehl, Roland Steinle, Joseph 1916

1914 Martin and Theodore Lewis. Case Hoyer v , age 73, is the oldest jus- . State, 180 Wis. 407 Burr Jones In this search and seizure case, the Court found that the sher- iff’s department unconstitutionally removed liquor from and

tice to join the Supreme Court. Case

1920 seized the defendant’s automobile. 1923

Case , 191 Wis. 202 ait v. Pierce John F. Jelke Comp W To aid the dairy industry, the state Legislature made it a crime in In a 4-3 ruling, the Supreme Court grants women the right to sue any v. Emery 1925 to manufacture or sell margarine, 193 in Wis. Wisconsin. 311 A unanimous their husbands. The Court broadly interprets a 1921 law which Supreme Court rules that the Legislature cannot regulate competi- 1926 gave women the right to vote, finding that the law granted women tion to give one industry an advantage over another. a number of additional rights. 1930 1927

is appointed to the Court. He is the last jus- Theodore Lewis Edward Fairchild days and dies of pneumoniais appointed before to the hearing Court. Hea case. serves for 20

tice without a law degree from an institution of higher learning. Twenty-eight years later, he swears in his son ThomasCase Fairchild 1934

1929 to the Supreme Court. Case 1940 State ex rel. Drankovich v The Supreme Court strengthens the right of defendants in crimi- , 219 . Murphy . Tollefsen nal matters to have legal counsel. Trial, 248 judges Wis. must 433 inform indi- viduals of their rights and a lawyer must be provided at public Justice Chester Fowler receives national attention for his opinion expense, when necessary, even if the defendant does not request in Employers Mutual Life Insurance Co. v

1950 counsel. 1945 1935 Wis. 434. Considered a “purist” in English usage, Fowler sharply criticizes the use of “and/or” in documents. The Legislature ratifies two constitutional amendments that The annual salarya year. for a Supreme Court jus- 1960 abolish the justices of the peace and permit municipal tice is $12,000 courts. Thus, the state court system consists of a Supreme

1949 Court, circuit courts, county courts and municipal courts. 1966

The state Legislature enacts Chapter 315, an initial reorganization Case of the court system, effective January 1, 1962. The most significant State v change is the abolition of special statutory courts (municipal, district, . Yoder, 1970 The Wisconsin Supreme49 Wis.2d Court 430 holds that a state law requiring

1959 superior, civil and small claims). A uniform system of jurisdiction and children to attend school full time is unconstitutional because it procedure is established for all county courts. infringes on the Court distinguishesAmish itself freedom from courts to practice around their the country,religion. whichThe

had upheld compulsory education. The case is affirmed by the 1971 Robert Hansen defeats George Currie, making Hansen U.S. Supreme Court. the first candidate to unseat a chief justice.

1967 As authorized by a 1977 state constitutional amendment, the Legislature enacts a single-level trial court system, eliminates is appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. county courts, creates the missive review by the Supreme Court. This considerably reduces Shirley S. Abrahamson 1980 what had been an intolerableCourt work of load Appeals for the Supreme Court. Patrick Lucey. She becomes the first woman justice on the Court. The Legislature also authorizes municipalities toand establish provides munici- for per-

1976 Case pal courts to handle ordinance violations. 1978 The Supreme Court allows cameras in the courtroom.

, 123 Wis.2d 303 . Stevens 1990 State v Case In this case, a divided Supreme Court determines that police

may seize and search a person’s garbage without a warrant. State v 1985 . Mitchell The Supreme Court, 169 declares Wis.2d a 153 state law which allows enhanced penalty for an offender who selects a victim based outreach program travels to on such characteristics as race or sexual orientation to be Justice on Wheels The first unconstitutional. The 1992 Green Bay for two days of oral argument. Case U.S. Supreme Court 1993 Case reverses.

, 199 Wis. 2d 674 State v. Hansford . Benson 2000 The Court concludes, 219 that Wis. six-person 2d 226 juries are unconstitutional in Thompson v criminal misdemeanor cases. The Supreme Court thwarts an attempt to take powers away from May 29:

the elected state superintendent of schools and give them to Wisconsin celebrates its 1998 1996 gubernatorial appointees. th 150 birthday. is appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle, becom- Shirley S. Abrahamson Court and 10 years as chief justice. Louis B. Butler Jr. celebrates 30 years on the Supreme

ing the first African-American justice in Wisconsin history.

2006 2004