Vol. 75, No. 9, September 2002

Celebrating Wisconsin's Legal History

• A world in which nothing is perfect 

by Amanda Todd

The year 2003 marks an important milestone in Wisconsin's legal history, and a variety of celebrations are in the works. The Wisconsin Supreme Court will turn 150 years old, while the State Bar of Wisconsin will celebrate its 125th anniversary, and the Court of Appeals will mark a youthful 25 years.

Supreme Court History

While the Wisconsin Supreme Court has been a leader on many issues, it was five years behind the rest of state government at the start. When Wisconsin became the nation's 30th 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 - by 1848 there were five - once a year in Madison as a "supreme court." The new state was to maintain this system for five years, and then would have the option to create a separate supreme court. In 1852 the legislature voted to create a separate supreme court that would have three members, one of whom would be chief justice.

In 1853 the people of Wisconsin chose three men - a New Yorker, a Massachusetts native, and an Irish immigrant - to set a course for the fledgling state's third branch of government. The men were the first justices of the newly formed Wisconsin Supreme Court and, while they clashed almost immediately on the issue of states' rights and the federal Fugitive Slave Act, each was known as a man of honor and principle.

State Bar History

On Jan. 9, 1878, several hundred lawyers met in Madison to form an organized bar association - approving its constitution and bylaws and electing officers. Among its top priorities, as emphasized by Moses M. Strong, the association's first president, were to: recommend laws setting high education and moral standards for admission to the bar in Wisconsin, present active steps to remove unworthy members of the bar, and meet annually for social and professional exchange. The original membership roll numbered 265 of the approximately 1,200 lawyers then practicing in the state.

According to Philip S. Habermann's A History of the Organized Bar in Wisconsin (1986), of the first 108 years of the association's existence, 70 were noted primarily for inertia, followed by 38 years of expansion into what is generally conceded to be one of the most effective bar associations in the country.

Upcoming Projects

The Legal History Committee will celebrate Wisconsin's rich legal history in a variety of ways during 2003, including:

• Reprint and update Portraits of Justice, published by the supreme court in 1998. The new edition of the softcover book will be printed by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHS) and will include biographies and photographs of all justices since statehood. Copies will be available free to Wisconsin lawyers who purchase a special discounted membership in the SHS. In the book, readers will meet those first three supreme court justices:
  
  Edward V. Whiton, a Massachusetts-born Whig who served as speaker of the territorial Assembly in Wisconsin, was elected chief justice of the first supreme court. Prior to joining the court, Whiton published the first collection of territorial laws, an enormous task that was a great contribution to his adopted home.
  
  Samuel Crawford, who emigrated from Ireland at age 20 and made his way from New York to Galena, Ill., to Wisconsin (where he practiced law in Mineral Point before his election to the court), was elected to a two-year term on the court. At that time, the justices served staggered terms and Crawford not only drew the shorter term but also failed in his bid for reelection - probably because he authored an opinion holding that Wisconsin had to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act.
  
  Abram D. Smith, a New Yorker who practiced law in Milwaukee prior to joining the bench, was the third justice. Midway through his term on the court, Smith was implicated in a major railroad scandal in Wisconsin that also ensnared the governor and several legislators.
• Articles and presentations for service organizations and professional groups statewide. The subjects will relate to the law but will vary greatly depending on the audience. For example, this issue of Wisconsin Lawyer begins a series of articles on prominent Wisconsin Supreme Court justices with a profile of Chief Justice Edward G. Ryan written by Madison attorney Joseph A. Ranney. An upcoming issue of the Wisconsin Academy Review will publish an article by Milwaukee attorney Hannah Dugan on Wisconsin agriculture's pursuit of legal rights, and an article by Ranney and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley on judicial independence will appear in the Wisconsin Magazine of History in early 2003.
• A spotlight CLE program on Wisconsin legal history is being developed for the 2003 State Bar convention. Assistant Attorney General Mary E. Burke, chair of the State Bar's Appellate Practice Section, is working closely with members of the Legal History Committee to develop an interesting and informative program.
• A traveling exhibit that provides "Supreme Court 101" information and showcases famous cases of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is being developed with grant funding from the Milwaukee Bar Foundation and the Wisconsin Humanities Council. The exhibit is tentatively scheduled to spend approximately one month in the county courthouses (and the state Capitol) in the following communities beginning in January 2003: Madison, Janesville, Racine, Waukesha, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau, Rhinelander, Superior, Eau Claire, and La Crosse.
• A brief video that tells about the supreme court and its history, highlighting famous cases, might be developed with funding from the Wisconsin Law Foundation. The video would run on a continuous loop in the Supreme Court Hearing Room.
• An oral history project will train volunteers to interview lawyers and judges who have had long and colorful careers. The oral histories will be transcribed with the volunteer assistance of court reporters and will be made available to researchers at the State Historical Society. Attorneys Edward Reisner of the U.W. Law School and Joan Bright Rundle are leading this project.
• The Wisconsin Law Foundation might organize an end-of-the-year celebration as a fundraiser. The Law Foundation supports charitable and educational programs that promote public understanding of the law.

The Legal History Committee

The Wisconsin Legal History Committee, chaired by Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson and State Bar President Pat Ballman, is steering the celebration of both the Wisconsin Supreme Court's 150th anniversary and the State Bar's 125th. For more information, contact:

• Dan Rossmiller, public relations coordinator, State Bar of Wisconsin, (800) 444-9404, ext. 6140, drossmiller@wisbar.org;
• Amanda Todd, court information officer, Director of State Courts Office, (608) 264-6256, amanda.todd@courts.state.wi.us; or
• John Voelker, executive assistant to the chief justice, (608) 261-8297, john.voelker@courts.state.wi.us.

The Legal History Committee is comprised of judges, lawyers, academics, and historians. It meets approximately every quarter at the State Bar Center in Madison. Members include: Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson (cochair); attorney Pat Ballman, president, State Bar of Wisconsin (cochair); Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin Supreme Court; George Brown, executive director, State Bar of Wisconsin; J. Kent Calder, editorial director, State Historical Society of Wisconsin; attorney Catherine Cleary, Milwaukee; attorney Charles Curtis, Madison; Michael Goodman, Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Letters & Sciences; Jack Holzheuter, Wisconsin historian; Prof. Gordon Hylton, Marquette Law School; Bobbie Malone, director, Office of School Services, State Historical Society of Wisconsin; attorney Gerald Mowris, past-president, State Bar of Wisconsin; attorney Joseph Ranney, Madison; attorney Edward Reisner, U.W. Law School; attorney Joan Bright Rundle, Madison; attorney Michael Remington, Washington, D.C.; and attorney John Skilton, Madison.

Wisconsin Lawyer