Justice Susan M. Crawford
Justice Susan M. Crawford was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2025. Justice Crawford previously served as a circuit court judge in Dane County, first elected in 2018 and reelected in 2024.
Before becoming a judge, Justice Crawford was a civil litigator in private practice for several years. She served as chief legal counsel for the Office of Governor Jim Doyle and in appointed positions in several state agencies. She began her career as an assistant attorney general, first at the Iowa Attorney General's Office and then at the Wisconsin Department of Justice, where she served as the director of the criminal appeals unit.
Justice Crawford grew up in Chippewa Falls. She earned her undergraduate degree from Lawrence University with honors, Phi Beta Kappa, and later obtained a master's degree in English from Indiana University. She graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law with high honors in 1994.
Justice Crawford is active in the community, serving as a board member and chair of a large food pantry in Dane County. She has participated in several professional organizations and statewide court committees, including serving on the Wisconsin Judicial Education Committee, the Wisconsin Judicial Conference Executive Committee, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court "Making the Record" Committee. She is a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association, the Dane County Bar Association, and the Milwaukee County Bar Association. Justice Crawford previously served as president of the James E. Doyle Chapter of the American Inn of Court, as chair of the Dane County Behavioral Health Subcommittee, as a commissioner on the Dane County Equal Opportunity Commission, and as vice president of the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Constitution Society.
Justice Crawford and her husband live in Madison and have two adult children.