Awards

Nettesheim, Fleishauer honored with jurist awards

Judge Neal P. Nettesheim

The State Bar of Wisconsin Bench and Bar Committee has selected two Wisconsin judges for the exceptional contributions they have made to their communities and the justice system over the years.

Judge Neal P. Nettesheim, who recently retired from the District II Court of Appeals, will receive the bar association's "Lifetime Jurist Achievement" award; Judge Frederic W. Fleishauer, Portage County Circuit Court, will receive the "Judge of the Year" award at the State Bar of Wisconsin's Annual Convention in May.

The Lifetime Jurist Achievement Award recognizes a jurist who has served more than one full term as a circuit court judge and who has demonstrated outstanding, long-term judicial service during his or her years as a sitting judge.

The Judge of the Year Award honors an outstanding circuit court trial judge who has exceeded the call of judicial office and who has improved the judicial system in some fashion during the past year.

Judge Nettesheim, who was Wisconsin's second-longest sitting judge at the time of his retirement last year, was in private practice from 1966 to 1975, when he became a Waukesha County judge. He served as a Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge from 1978 to 1983, when he joined the District II Court of Appeals. He served as Chief Judge from 1990 to 93. He was praised by William J. Domina, Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel, as a jurist who defended both "the rule of law and the rule of common sense" and as the embodiment of "fairness, scholarship and excellent judicial temperament."

In addition to serving on the bench, Judge Nettesheim has played an exceptionally active role in promoting judicial education and excellence. He served on the state’s Judicial Education Committee, which oversees continuing education programs for judges and was Dean of the Wisconsin Judicial College, which provides orientation and training for newly elected or appointed judges and a refresher for sitting judges, from 1987 to 1993. Judge Nettesheim is also active in the State Bar, where he has served on the Mentor Council and the Bench Bar Committee, which studies the organization, operation and general administration of Wisconsin courts, including practice and procedure issues.

Judge Frederic W. Fleishauer

Judge Fleishauer, who has served on the bench since 1981, was praised by his peers as a model of integrity, patience and respect in all of his contacts with attorneys, other county personnel and persons appearing in his courtroom. Katherine Munck, Executive Director of Justiceworks, Ltd. of Portage County, which promotes the principles of restorative justice, noted that Judge Fleishauer has "expended an enormous amount of personal time and effort in forwarding initiatives to improve the justice system and to involve the community in that endeavor." Munck said Fleishauer worked collaboratively with stakeholders in Stevens Point and Portage County to build community awareness of the justice system and to promote restorative justice.

Judge Fleishauer is widely recognized for the efficiency and professionalism of his courtroom. Past recipients of the Lifetime Jurist Achievement Award include the Hon. Edward R. Brunner, Lee E. Wells, Peter G. Pappas, Patrick T. Sheedy, Mark J. Farnum, P. Charles Jones, Edwin C. Dahlberg and Myron L. Gordon.

Past recipients of the Judge of the Year Award include Kitty K. Brennan, Mark S. Gempeler, John J. Perlich, Gerald C. Nichol and Maxine A. White.

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Director’s awards announced

Director of State Courts A. John Voelker has announced the winners of the 2007 Director’s Recognition Awards:

Kevin Grittner, Randy Peterson, Shannon Spranger Bill Severson and John Hutchins, Consolidated Court Automation Programs. Director Jean Bousquet nominated this group based on its role in the CCAP Database Team’s successful work in migrating all CCAP circuit court databases from Sybase to PostGres. The team’s efforts and individual performance in this large-scale project were keys to the success of this crucial initiative. Grittner, Peterson, Severson and Hutchins are database administrators; Springer is a senior technical support engineer.

Erin Slattengren, policy analyst, Court Operations (now special projects manager). Sheryl Gervasi, court operations director, along with the Policy and Planning Advisory Committee (PPAC) Planning Committee, Hon. Carl Ashley and Hon. William McMonigal, nominated Slattengren for this award based on her work with PPAC and the Office of Court Operations.  Slattengren’s contributions in the management of grant funds such as the STOP and JEHT grants have been critical to the success of this expanding area of court operations. Slattengren’s work in staffing PPAC with dedication and enthusiasm has resulted in renewed vitality for ongoing initiatives and the successful beginning of new court system programs and projects.

Mary Hoeft Smith, trust account program administrator, Office of Lawyer Regulation. Keith Sellen nominated Mary Hoeft Smith for this award based on her work with the revisions of the trust account rules that will substantially improve the professional practice of law and protection of funds of clients and other persons.  Hoeft Smith’s work was critical to the Supreme Court’s adoption of the Trust Account Petition.

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