Supreme Court unveils history display to honor 150th

Madison, Wisconsin - December 30, 2002

On the eve of its 150th anniversary, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has unveiled a new exhibit of Supreme Court history that highlights famous cases on issues as diverse as slavery, women's rights, industry, and religious freedom. The display has been installed in the public vestibule of the Supreme Court Hearing Room, located on the second floor of the State Capitol's East Wing, and will remain there until the second week in January when it moves to the first floor Rotunda. In February, the exhibit will begin a 12-stop journey around the state ( see schedule below ). 

The traveling exhibit is one of a number of projects, publications, and events developed by a multidisciplinary Legal History Committee to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the Supreme Court and the 125th anniversary of the State Bar of Wisconsin, both of which occur in 2003. Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson serves as chair of the committee. "The new year will be full of opportunities to share information about the rich history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which reflects the history of our state," she said. The Supreme Court is five years younger than the state of Wisconsin because the Constitution permitted the new state to keep the territorial court system in place in those early years.

A professional museum exhibit designer worked with a small committee of Supreme Court justices and staff to develop the eight-panel, stand-alone display. It presents information on the role and powers of the Court and highlights - in pictures and words - the following cases: 

• In re: Booth, an 1854 case from Milwaukee that involved a fugitive slave named Joshua Glover and abolitionist newspaper publisher Sherman Booth.

• Motion to admit Miss Lavinia Goodell to the Bar of this Court, an 1875 case from Janesville involving the first woman to practice law in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

• Brown v. Phillips and others, an 1888 case from Racine that involved the famous suffragette Olympia Brown and women's voting rights.

• John F. Jelke Co. v. Emery, a 1927 case from Madison involving the legality of margarine.

• State v. Milwaukee Braves, Inc., a 1966 antitrust case from Milwaukee County.

• State v. Yoder, a 1971 case from New Glarus involving the right of Amish children to an education.

The exhibit was funded with grants from the Milwaukee Bar Foundation, Inc., and the Wisconsin Humanities Council (WHC). The WHC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to engage the people of Wisconsin in the exploration of human cultures, ideas and values. Local bar associations are paying the cost of bringing the exhibit to individual courthouses around the state.

The exhibit is slated to visit courthouses in the following locations: 

January           Madison (Capitol)     

February         Janesville

March              Racine

April                 Waukesha

May                  Milwaukee

June                Oshkosh

July                  Rhinelander

August            Wausau

September     Green Bay

October           Superior

November       Eau Claire

December       La Crosse

January 2004  Madison (Dane County Courthouse)

For more information contact:
Amanda Todd
Court Information Officer
(608) 264-6256

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