List of Wisconsin circuit court judges

The Wisconsin circuit courts were established by the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratified by referendum May 8, 1848. There were originally five circuit courts&mdash;each with one judge. In the first version of the constitution, and, until 1853, the circuit court judges also served as the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The number of courts was expanded via legislation as the population of the state grew. There are currently 69 circuit courts in the state with 249 current judges. The circuit courts are organized into nine judicial administrative districts.

On March 6, 2020, Governor Tony Evers signed bipartisan legislation to create 12 new circuit court branches to be elected in spring 2021 and take office in fall 2021.

The current system was implemented by a 1977 act of the Wisconsin Legislature (1977 Wisconsin Act 187), authorized by an April 1977 referendum to amend the state constitution. The act combined the pre-1978 County Courts with the pre-1978 Circuit Courts to create a single level of trial courts&mdash;the present Wisconsin Circuit Courts. The act also created the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.