Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin Lawyer