With his two most recent appointments, Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has now picked a majority of the current judges serving on the Dane County Circuit Court.
Voters typically choose their own county judges in elections, except when there’s a midterm vacancy. That’s where Evers has stepped in — and in Dane County, nine of the 17 circuit court judges owe their positions to his appointments.
The governor says he’s focused on ensuring a diverse judiciary representative of a diverse population.
Legal scholars say Evers’ stated attention to diversity on the bench differs from previous governors.
"Since Day One, an important priority for me as governor has been appointing a judiciary that reflects the communities they serve and working toward building a state where every person is treated with fairness, dignity and respect under the law,” Evers said in a statement emailed to the Cap Times.
“I’m especially proud of appointing qualified judges all across our state who are committed to upholding these important ideals, including right here in Dane County."
The Wisconsin Justice Initiative, a nonpartisan group that works to educate the public on judges running for election and other related news, has an ongoing blog that tracks judicial appointments, including Evers’.
Margo Kirchner, executive director of the Milwaukee-based nonprofit, said it’s been interesting to see the changes in judicial appointments from one governor to another.
“Part of the ability of Evers to appoint over half of the Dane County bench is that he's been in office now for a sufficient amount of time that the number of appointees has added up,” she said.
As of the end of 2024, Evers had appointed 66 judges statewide over his six years as governor. Comparatively, during his eight years in office, former Gov. Scott Walker appointed 93 judges.
The difference lies in who each governor has appointed, Kirchner added.
Of Walker’s 93 judicial appointments, 92 were white, Kirchner noted.
Twenty-five of Evers’ 66 judicial appointments through 2024 were people of color and 36 were women.
Currently, nine of Dane County’s 17 circuit court judges are women. When Ben Jones takes over for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-elect Susan Crawford in August, the majority on the bench will flip back to men.
Kirchner said Evers’ focus on diversity has paid off in ensuring that qualified judges from multiple genders and races are represented on the bench.
For example, at the time of her appointment in 2020, Judge Nia Trammell was the sixth Black woman to serve as a state judge in Wisconsin history, and the first Black woman in Wisconsin to serve as a state judge outside of Milwaukee County.
Before Evers took office and revamped the governor’s judicial advisory committee that helps him vet candidates for judgeships, Wisconsin ranked poorly in equitable racial and gender representation on the bench.
A 2018 report by the American Constitution Society ranked Wisconsin 44th in the nation for judicial diversity. The report found that white men made up 41% of the state’s population but held 76% of judicial seats, while women of color comprised 9% of the population but held 1% of judicial seats.
Beyond the racial makeup of the bench, Kirchner said, Evers’ appointments has meant “having more of a variety, having there be public defenders, instead of just former prosecutors and big law (firm) attorneys.”
“People like legal action attorneys are now becoming judges through appointment, and having those perspectives of people who have had clients that have faced eviction, clients who have come from traumatic experiences, understanding those various perspectives is really important.”
These are the nine sitting Dane County judges Evers has appointed over the past seven years:
Branch 1: Jones, a previous attorney for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, was appointed in May to fill the vacancy that will be left when Crawford takes her position on the Supreme Court.
Branch 2: Judge Payal Khandhar, a former assistant state public defender and former criminal defense attorney, was appointed in June 2024 to fill the vacancy left by former Judge Josann M. Reynolds’ resignation. Khandhar will complete a term ending this July.
Branch 6: Judge Nia Trammell, former deputy secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, was appointed in 2020 to fill the vacancy left by former Judge Shelly Gaylord. Trammell went on to win reelection in 2021.
Branch 7: Judge Mario White, former Dane County court commissioner, was appointed in 2020 to fill the seat left by former Judge William Hanrahan’s retirement. White went on to win an uncontested election for the same seat in 2021.
Branch 8: Judge Stephanie Hilton, a former assistant attorney general at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, was appointed in April to fill the vacancy left by former Judge Frank D. Remington’s retirement. Hilton will complete a term ending in July 2026.
Branch 9: Judge Jacob Frost, a former civil litigation and family law attorney, was appointed in June 2020 to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of former Judge Richard Niess. Frost won an uncontested election for the same seat in 2021.
Branch 10: Judge Ryan Nilsestuen, former chief legal counsel for the Office of the Governor and former chair of the governor’s Pardon Advisory Committee, was appointed in December 2022 to fill the seat left open by former Judge Juan Colás’ retirement. Nilsestuen went on to win an uncontested election to the same seat in 2024.
Branch 12: Judge Ann Peacock, former director of the Wisconsin Justice Department’s Civil Litigation Unit, was appointed in 2023 to fill the seat left empty by former Judge Chris Taylor, who was also an Evers appointee. Peacock won an uncontested election for the same seat in 2024.
Branch 17: Judge David Conway, former assistant U.S. attorney and former division chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin, was appointed in 2020 to fill the seat previously held by former Judge Peter Anderson. Conway won an uncontested election for the same seat in 2021.
Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway was appointed by Gov. Tony Evers in 2020. Conway went on to win an uncontested election for the seat in 2021.
The other eight county circuit court judges assumed their positions through elections:
Branch 3: Judge Dianne Schlipper won the general election in 2022. Her term lasts through 2028.
Branch 4: Judge Everett Mitchell won the general election in 2022. His term lasts through 2028. Mitchell lost a primary for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023.
Branch 5: Judge Nicholas McNamara first won election to his seat in 2010 and has won every election since. His current term ends in 2028.
Branch 11: Judge Ellen Berz was first elected in 2012. She won reelection in 2018 and 2024. Her current term ends in 2030.
Branch 13: Judge Julie Genovese was first elected in 2009 and won reelection in 2015 and 2021. Her current term ends in 2027.
Branch 14: Judge John Hyland was first elected in 2016. He won reelection in 2022 and his current term ends in 2028.
Branch 15: Judge Stephen Ehlke was first elected in 2010. He has since won reelection in 2016 and 2022. His current term ends in 2028.
- Branch 16: Judge Rhonda Lanford defeated incumbent Judge Rebecca Rapp St. John in the general election in 2013. She won reelection in 2019 and this year.
