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    Wisconsin Lawyer
    April 01, 2007

    Wisconsin Supreme Court accepted its first case in 1853

    Wisconsin LawyerWisconsin Lawyer
    Vol. 80, No. 4, April 2007

    The first term of the separate Wisconsin Supreme Court commenced on June 1, 1853. When Wisconsin became a state in 1848, the constitutional convention decided to preserve the appellate system that had existed in the territory since 1836. This system brought together the state's circuit court judges once a year in Madison as a "supreme court." In 1852 the state legislature voted to create a separate supreme court, with three members, one of whom would be chief justice.

    The court's first case was Winnie v. Nickerson, which involved a $10.40 debt and $14.36 in court costs. The dispute centered on a question of the reliability of an account book.

    More information about this case can be found in the State Law Library Feb. 2007 newsletter.


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