Third Branch eNews

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis J. Ceci, whose career in Wisconsin public service included work as a lawyer, legislator, trial judge, and appellate justice, died January 27 at the age of 98.

Ceci served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1982 until his retirement in 1993. During that time, he authored more than 150 majority and concurring opinions.

Born September 10, 1927, in New York City to Italian immigrant parents, Ceci moved to Milwaukee in 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 17 and served in the Asiatic-Pacific during World War II. After completing his military service, he finished high school in New York, graduating from Theodore Roosevelt Evening High School in 1947.

Ceci returned to Wisconsin to attend Marquette University, earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1951 and a law degree in 1954. He began practicing law in Milwaukee and later served as principal assistant city attorney for the City of Milwaukee from 1958 to 1963.

In 1964, Ceci was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Milwaukee’s 18th District. Two years later, he was the Republican candidate for Wisconsin attorney general.

Governor Warren P. Knowles appointed Ceci as a Milwaukee County judge in 1968. He was elected to that position the following year and, in 1973, was elected to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. He later served as presiding judge of the civil division and held leadership roles within the state court system, including service on the Administrative Committee of Courts.

Ceci first ran for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1980 and narrowly lost in the statewide election. In 1982, Governor Lee S. Dreyfus appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Court. He was elected without opposition to a full ten-year term in 1984, becoming the first justice of Italian descent to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

While on the bench, Ceci participated in judicial education programs and frequently lectured at state conferences. He served as a delegate to the Trial Judges Association of the American Bar Association and co-authored national standards for judicial education adopted by the ABA in 1982.

After stepping down from the Supreme Court in 1993, Ceci continued to serve as a Wisconsin reserve judge. He also worked as a civil mediator certified by the Florida Supreme Court.

Outside the courtroom, Ceci was involved in a number of civic and professional organizations, including the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He also served as a counselor and lecturer for Badger Boys State.