Former Court of Appeals Judges

Ted E. Wedemeyer, Jr.

District I (1982-1988; 1992-2008); Presiding Judge (1983-1985; 1992-2007)

Ted E. Wedemeyer, Jr., was an active judge in District I when, on July 23, 2008, he died at the age of 75 as a result of lung cancer. 

Wedemeyer was appointed the first municipal judge for the City of Milwaukee in 1975.  He helped organize the court system before his appointment.  Governor Martin Schreiber appointed him to the circuit court in 1977 where he remained until he was elected to the Court of Appeals in 1982.  He was defeated in the 1988 election but won the seat again in 1991. 

He successfully petitioned our supreme court to allow cameras in state courtrooms in the late 1970s.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel also wrote that his municipal courtroom was the first in which cameras were allowed.  He served on a committee that worked for a victim’s rights constitutional amendment and one that advocated anti-gang legislation.  Wedemeyer called himself a middle-of-the-roader and took pride in being described as both a hardliner on crime and a judge willing to protect the state’s progressive constitutional traditions.  He was a member of the Wisconsin Judicial Council and was a member of the Judicial Council’s Appellate Procedure Committee that drafted the 2001 Revisions to the Rules of Appellate Procedure. 

Wedemeyer grew up in Milwaukee.  He graduated from law school at Marquette University and served as a baker with the U.S. Air Force Reserve.  He returned to law in private practice from 1957-1974.  He served as a secretary with Easter Seals, on the board of directors at Goethe House, was involved in the St. Joseph Foundation as well as Volunteers of America and Milwaukee Christian Center.  He was involved in shaping the development of soccer in Wisconsin and was a member of the Wisconsin Soccer Hall of Fame. 

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