Retired Rock County Circuit Court Judge James Daley is the 2024 Lifetime Jurist.

April 17, 2024 – It was out of frustration that Judge James P. Daley enrolled in law school.

As a young man, he joined the Chicago Northwestern Railroad Police in Milwaukee. “I worked four years as a special agent. We had responsibility for crimes on or around railroad property,” he said.

Working with fellow officers, he broke up a large theft ring that was taking wheels and parts off new vehicles being shipped via the railroad. “We arrested two ringleaders and four or five other folks,” he said.

But when the cases landed in court, “it was an incompetent ADA in Milwaukee who let things slide,” he said, resulting in the cases not being prosecuted effectively.

One defendant's case was dismissed by a judge when the prosecutor didn’t show up for court. “I saw that and thought ‘I can do better than that. But you need a law degree to do it.’”

“That’s what got me going into law school,” he said.

Judge Daley, now retired after serving nearly 30 years with Rock County Circuit Court, is the 2024 recipient of the State Bar of Wisconsin Bench and Bar Committee's Lifetime Jurist Award.

The award recognizes jurists who, during their tenure on the bench, were fair and impartial, demonstrated high ideals and personal character along with outstanding, long-term judicial service.

Judge Daley is being honored for his leadership in establishing the first regional veterans’ diversion court in Wisconsin, among many other accomplishments in Rock County and in Wisconsin.

Path to Leadership

After high school graduation in 1965 in Elkhorn, the young James Daley had a few things to figure out. “I didn’t know what to do in life,” he said.

That summer he worked for his father, a plant manager for a musical instrument factory in Elkhorn. That fall, he began college at U.W.-Whitewater, and enrolled in a platoon leaders course, which commissioned officers for the U.S. Marine Corps. With the draft hanging over his head, he dropped out of both college and the course, and signed up for three years in the Marines.

Private First Class James Daley, San Diego, 1966.

After completing boot camp in San Diego in 1966, Private First Class James Daley headed to Vietnam with an infantry battalion. Starting March 17, 1967, he served in Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade. In January 1968, the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment was transferred back to the 3rd Marine Division, and his unit become Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division. "I rotated back to the U.S. in April 1968," he said.

In 1969, he left active duty as a sergeant decorated with a Purple Heart (for wounds received July 6, 1967), a Bronze Star Medal (for actions under fire on Aug. 17, 1967) and as recipient of a Meritorious Mast (for exceptionally noteworthy performance of duty March 17, 1967, through Jan. 15, 1968).

“Three years later, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Judge Daley recalled with a laugh, “but that’s life.”

Returning to Wisconsin, Daley worked as a railroad special agent – at the same time continuing college full time. “I didn’t get much sleep” during those years, but his experience prompted him to become a lawyer. He attended Marquette University Law School 1978-81.

Prior to law school – while in college – in 1974, Daley joined the Wisconsin Army National Guard. “I had a family connection with the Oconomowoc unit,” through an uncle who was a World War II veteran. Daley joined as an infantry sergeant. The unit he had joined, he said, “was frankly a mess” to the combat veteran. He observed the unit lost people because the leadership was unprepared to actually train the unit personnel. “It didn’t seem like anybody was concerned about fighting the next war. I figured if I was going to do this job, I was going to do it right. And that’s what I did,” Judge Daley said. So, in 1978 – just before starting law school – he attended officer candidate school and in August was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.

Using leadership skills he learned as a Marine, he commanded his units with the goal of changing their mindset: to always be ready to “take off running” at every drill weekend. “You fight the way you train, so you need to train the way you fight.” He retired in 2006 from the National Guard as a brigadier general, having commanded the 32nd Infantry Brigade, the largest National Guard unit in Wisconsin.

Litigator to DA to Judge

Graduating from Marquette in 1981, he got his first job as a litigator in Janesville through a law school connection. After a year and a half, that firm “broke up,” and he joined a husband-and-wife firm, where he continued as a litigator – working hard with “two good lawyers.” “Those two years were the most fun of my practice,” he recalled.

In 1984, encouraged by the local Republican Party, he successfully ran for the county’s district attorney position – which he held from January 1985 until two days after he was sworn in for his third term in January 1989. He resigned the next day because Gov. Tommy Thompson had appointed him to Branch 1 in Rock County. “I started the first week in 1989,” Judge Daley said.

He was elected to Branch 1 in 1990, 1996, 2002, 2008, and 2014. Judge Daley retired in March 2018.

Translatable Skills

Judge Daley said his service in the Marines taught him two skills that helped him in his legal career, “focus and mental discipline,” he said.

But it also taught him how to work on very little sleep. “I used to laugh with my veteran friends – that the only translatable skill I learned in the Marine Corps in Vietnam is that you’re up 18-20 hours a day, every day. And I learned to sleep with my eyes open. That paid dividends later in law school,” he said with a laugh.

Another skill: “You find humor where you can get it. It’s a mental break and we need that,” he said.

Fairness and Humanity

Courts, he said, are the safety valve of our society. “It must be fair to every defendant or every litigant. If it isn’t, then we have problems. The courtroom proceedings not only have to be fair, but also appear fair.”

While the task of a judge includes sentencing people “for bad things” they’ve been convicted of, “you never denigrate” the parties. “You may have to send people to prison, but you explain it to them. You give time to discuss it back and forth.”

In sentencing hearings, “everyone is treated like a human being” regardless of what they have done. Judge Daley said he “never let litigants use language that removes humanity from the other party.”

Treatment Courts

Judge Daley was instrumental in forming the first veterans treatment court in the state as well as two other diversion courts: OWI and drug courts. The veterans treatment court, he said, came from a trip to New York, where a court was already in place. “It took a year and a half to organize it,” because Wisconsin’s systems differed structurally from New York’s. “A lot of people from county agencies were very supportive.”

From the time it formed in 2009 until his retirement, Judge Daley presided over the court. Veterans, he said, can suffer from substance abuse collateral to PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. As a veteran himself, he understands them.

The results have been overwhelmingly positive. “It was a niche that needed to be filled,” Judge Daley said. “I think we did some wonderful work.”

The drug treatment court and OWI treatment court followed. “We were able to get them going over the objections, and the county board is very good at supporting it. I think it’s worked out well,” he said.

Proud Accomplishments

Looking back on a long career, Judge Daley is proud of other accomplishments.

As a district attorney in Rock County, he helped establish Rock County’s victim witness program. “I think it’s worked well for the past 40 years.”

When he first started as a judge, the circuit court in Rock County was split with branches in Beloit and Janesville. The issue, he said, “was the disparate handling” of cases between the two locations. Each judge handled all types of cases. Only once they assigned one judge to handle all cases of a certain type, such as all juvenile cases was that issue resolved.

He is proud of his decade of work on the Criminal Jury Instruction Committee, from 1990 to 2000, serving the last year as chair of the committee.

Judge Daley is also proud of his service on the court interpretation committee. Then-Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson set up the committee, he said, which included members of the judiciary as well as other stakeholders, to set up standards for court interpretation. Judge Daley served two, 3-year terms, 2004-10, while the committee established a certification involving tests. “We also worked together to improve the number of certified court interpreters,” he said. “It was all very interesting. I enjoyed the interplay between the interpreters and the courts. And I think we’ve set up a good system in our state.”

Advice for New Judges

When he was new to the bench, Judge Daley learned these lessons from his judicial mentors:

• Review every case the day before you hear it.

• Do your own research (even if it is provided to you via briefs).

• “You have great power as a circuit court judge. Never put yourself in a position where you have to use it.”

His own advice to new judges: “Learn your job.” For the first few years on the bench, “I was in the courthouse until 7 p.m. reviewing cases for the next day,” Judge Daley said. “That paid dividends later in my career. You just set up procedures and do it.”

Judge James Daley and his wife, Shirley, at Stonehenge in the U.K. in 2018.

Down the Road

Retired since 2018, he now travels to various courthouses around southern Wisconsin as a reserve judge. “I’m interested in seeing the old courthouses,” like the one in Darlington, he said. “I love the architecture and the history.”

This summer he is planning a road trip following historic Route 66 – hopefully with “a couple of Vietnam buddies. … I have these wonderful books that show you where the route was and where it is now and gives the history. I’d love to see it,” he said.

‘Truly Outstanding’

Bench and Bar Committee members say they are fortunate to be able to consider truly outstanding jurists for this award and are proud to recognize and honor Judge Daley with the Lifetime Jurist award.

The award, he said, “came out of left field.” That his nominators – among those who practiced in front of him – thought he should be given this honor “means a lot to me.”

“I spent my career trying to be fair. Hopefully that came across,” he said.

Celebrate these 15 Leaders in the Law

They are members of the legal community who make a difference – by living a lifetime of service, mentoring others, offering their pro bono services, and going the extra mile. Congratulations to these 15 award recipients, all leaders in the law.

Join Us at the Annual Meeting & Conference in June in Milwaukee

Want to celebrate a friend, family member, or colleague being honored at the Member Recognition Celebration? Join us for this free event 5:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 20, at the KI Center in Green Bay.

The celebration takes place at the State Bar Annual Meeting & Conference, June 19-21. Register now to choose from more than 26 CLE sessions covering top trends, hot topics, and enduring advice for today’s lawyers.

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