Senate Bill 144 proposes to amend the current statutes regarding the number of judges in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Specifically, the bill seeks to eliminate one judgeship from District IV upon the expiration of the current judge's term on July 31, 2026, while simultaneously establishing an additional judgeship in District III, effective August 1, 2026. As a result, each district of the court of appeals will have four judges starting on that date. The initial election for this new judgeship in District III is scheduled for the spring election of 2026, with the term commencing on August 1, 2026, and concluding on July 31, 2032.

The bill includes specific legal language changes, notably amending section 752.03 of the statutes to reflect the new distribution of judges. The current provision stating that three judges are elected from District IV is deleted, and it is replaced with the stipulation that beginning August 1, 2026, four judges will be elected from each of the four districts specified in the relevant statutes. This adjustment aims to balance the number of judges across the districts while addressing the judicial needs of the state.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 752.03