Board of Bar Examiners members

Chair: Hon. Atty. James A. Morrison, Marinette
James A. Morrison is a sole practitioner in Marinette Wisconsin, where he has practiced since 1977. He maintains an office in Michigan, and formerly practiced in Chicago. Morrison practices family, insurance defense, corporation, estates, and real estate law.

Vice-Chair: Atty. James L. Huston, Whitefish Bay
A retired partner at the Milwaukee office of Foley & Lardner, James L. Huston concentrated his practice on civil litigation, including media law. He received his law degree from the University of Chicago in 1984. Before going to law school, he was managing editor of the Waukesha Freeman for several years. He has served as an adjunct professor of media law at Marquette Law School.

Mr. Mark J. Baker, Chippewa Falls
Mark Baker is one of the three lay members of the Board. He began his newspaper career in Minnesota but moved to Wisconsin in 1984 to become editor of the Shawano Evening Leader. Three years later, he moved to Chippewa Falls to head the news operation for the Evening Leader's parent company. In 1995, he became publisher of The Chippewa Herald. Baker is also immediate past president of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and past president of the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce and United Way of Chippewa County.

Hon. Charles H. Constantine, Racine
Judge Constantine is the judicial member of the Board. He was elected to the circuit court in 1996 after an 18-year career in private practice, and recently began his second six-year term on the bench. He is a native of Racine and a 1978 graduate of Marquette Law School.

Professor Daniel D. Blinka
Dan Blinka is a professor of law at Marquette University Law School where he teaches evidence, trial advocacy, advanced evidence, criminal law and procedure, legal ethics and American legal history.  He also holds a doctorate in United States history and has taught history courses at Marquette and UW-Madison.  He is the author of numerous books and articles on evidence law and criminal procedure.  Prior to joining the faculty at Marquette, Prof. Blinka was an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County for seven years.  He has remained active as a trial lawyer and consultant.

Atty. Thomas M. Boykoff
Atty. Thomas M. Boykoff retired in 2004 after 34 years of service as a state attorney. He served as a Tax Appeals Commissioner (10 years); regulated Wisconsin’s savings and loan associations and savings banks (14 years); wrote explanations of laws and drafted administrative rules and legislation for the Department of Revenue (5 years); and staffed legislative committees for the nonpartisan Wisconsin Legislative Council (5 years). Mr. Boykoff also taught courses part-time in legislation and Wisconsin taxation in the U. W. Law School. He wrote How to Represent a Client Before the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission (1985) and was contributing editor of Community Property in a Nutshell, 2nd Ed. (1988). Mr. Boykoff is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (B. A. 1964) and the University of Michigan Law School (J. D. 1967).

Col. Steven T. Clark, DeForest
Steven Clark is a retired U.S. Army Colonel who has held a variety of diplomatic, security and information-related posts for the Department of Defense. He has a B.A. in International Relations from UW-Madison and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. He has experience as a volunteer on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility.

Atty. Kurt D. Dykstra
Kurt Dykstra is the non-resident attorney member of the Board.  He is a partner in the firm of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP in Holland, MI.  His practice areas include general commercial litigation, real property, trade secret litigation, intellectual property licensing, entertainment law, and civil appeals.  Prior to his current position he was an attorney in Milwaukee and a judicial clerk to the Hon. Ann Walsh Bradley, Associate Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  Atty. Dykstra graduated first in his class (Summa Cum Laude) from Marquette University Law School where he was editor-in-chief of the Marquette Law Review.

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Linda F. Hoskins, Madison
Linda F. Hoskins is retired from the Madison Metropolitan School District, where she worked as an education assistant. She’s been a community activist involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for more than 20 years. She served on the state Department of Corrections’ Restorative Justice Board and as a volunteer in various capacities, including helping youth at a community center in Madison. She has an associate’s degree in criminal science and has studied police science and criminal justice issues.

Atty. Mary Beth Keppel, Madison
Mary Beth Keppel has been an Assistant Family Court Commissioner in Dane County since 1987. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant District Attorney for ten years. She has also practiced as a Legal Aid attorney and as a Hearing Examiner for the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and has served as President of the Dane County Bar Association.

Professor John Pray, Madison
John Pray is a clinical associate professor of law at UW Law School’s Remington Center, where he’s worked since 1986. Pray co-founded the Center’s Innocence Project and co-directs its Criminal Appeals Project. He has litigated many cases in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He’s a 1971 graduate of Cornell College and a 1986 graduate of UW Law School.

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