Several Wisconsin circuit court judges have announced plans to retire in 2026, marking the close of judicial careers that have served communities in Waukesha, Grant, Milwaukee, Rock, and Dodge counties.
Hon. Craig R. Day
Grant County Circuit Court
Judge Craig R. Day, Circuit Court Judge for Grant County Branch II, has announced his retirement after 17 years on the bench.
Judge Day was first elected in Grant County in 2009, when he defeated the 18-year incumbent. He was reelected in 2015 and 2021. His current term ends July 31, 2027, but Judge Day elected to pursue other interests at this time in his life.
“Being a dairy farm kid, I have had a job since I was eight years old, and I decided it was time to try something different,” Judge Day said.
Highlights in Judge Day’s career include being named State Trial Judge of the Year by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates in 2018, serving as co-chair of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference in 2012, and presiding over the Seifert v. Balink case, a seminal case on the application of Daubert in Wisconsin.
He also reflects fondly upon navigating the COVID pandemic without interruption of trials (or a COVID outbreak), and managing a criminal docket reputed for its abundance of jury trials and for prompt dispositions. Judge Day estimates he presided over more than 300 jury trials during his judicial career. He took particular professional stimulation from presiding over first-degree intentional homicide and medical negligence cases.
Judge Day relished the intellectual rigor and dynamic human interaction of a judge's life. Particularly, he has enjoyed his interactions with counsel from around the state and country and with the excellent court staff he has worked with over the years. However, Judge Day is looking forward to retirement and spending more time with his spouse, retired Jefferson County Judge Jennifer L. (Weston) Day. Top on Judge Day’s retirement list of things to do is “hang with Jenny,” although his current list also contains 19 other potential retirement activities. Being a relative Luddite, Judge Day is eager for days spent doing something other than looking at a computer screen and managing a Zoom platform. He said he will, however, miss the personal interactions with attorneys and (most) litigants.
Hon. William J. Domina
Waukesha County Circuit Court
Judge William J. Domina will retire from the Waukesha County Circuit Court this summer after a career that has included service in private practice, county government, and more than 16 years on the bench.
Judge Domina was appointed to the bench by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2010 after a career in public service and civil practice. Before becoming a judge, he worked as a judicial clerk for the Hon. Robert Dean and the Hon. Neal Nettesheim of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Districts III and II. He also worked in private practice in commercial litigation and spent more than two decades in public-sector legal roles, serving as assistant corporation counsel and principal assistant corporation counsel for Waukesha County and, later, as corporation counsel for Milwaukee County.
Judge Domina earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School. His pre-bench work in county government gave him experience in child protection matters, zoning, environmental law, eminent domain, civil litigation, and the legal issues that arise in public administration. Judge Domina also served as an elected member of the Waukesha School Board for nearly a decade.
On the bench, Judge Domina presided over alcohol and drug treatment courts in Waukesha County. He also served for 10 years on the Wisconsin Criminal Jury Instructions Committee, including as chairperson during his final two years on the committee.
Judge Domina has been active in both the Waukesha County Bar Association and the State Bar of Wisconsin. He served as president of the Waukesha County Bar Association and served on the State Bar of Wisconsin Board of Governors for more than a decade. The Waukesha County Bar Association named him the recipient of its Distinguished Member Award in 2016 and will present him with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2026. Judge Domina also received the 2015 Wisconsin Judge of the Year Award from the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Bench and Bar Committee.
Judge Domina will officially retire on Aug. 2, 2026, the date of his 40th wedding anniversary with his spouse, Attorney Julie M. Gay.
Hon. Thomas J. McAdams
Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. McAdams will leave the Branch 7 bench at the end of his current term on July 31, 2026, closing a judicial career that followed years of service as a prosecutor, attorney, and commissioner on the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission.
Judge McAdams was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2013. Before joining the bench, he served for two decades as an assistant district attorney in Milwaukee County. He also worked in private practice and served as a commissioner on the Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, where he was later acting chairperson.
Judge McAdams is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School. He currently serves in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 7, which is assigned to the Civil Division.
Hon. Barbara W. McCrory
Rock County Circuit Court
Rock County Circuit Court Judge Barbara W. McCrory retired from Branch 7, effective May 15, 2026, after 14 years on the bench.
Judge McCrory was elected to the Rock County Circuit Court in 2012. Her service has included presiding over cases in one of the state’s larger circuit courts, where judges handle a broad mix of criminal, civil, family, juvenile, and probate matters. During her time on the bench, the Rock County Circuit Court also navigated significant changes in court operations, including the expansion of remote proceedings and other technology used to support access to the courts.
In her retirement letter, Judge McCrory said it was “with mixed emotions” that she was stepping away from the bench.
“It has been a pleasure serving the people of Rock County and Wisconsin,” Judge McCrory wrote.
Hon. Brian A. Pfitzinger
Dodge County Circuit Court
Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Brian A. Pfitzinger has announced he will retire at the end of his term, concluding a legal career rooted in Dodge County.
Judge Pfitzinger began his legal career in Dodge County in 1988 as an assistant district attorney. He later worked in private practice for 18 years before being elected to the Dodge County Circuit Court in 2008.
Before beginning private practice, Judge Pfitzinger also served as a law clerk in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and as an intern in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office felony division. He is a graduate of Marquette University and Marquette University Law School.
Over nearly 18 years on the bench, Judge Pfitzinger has served Dodge County through a period of change in court operations, technology, and case management. His Dodge County biography also notes his work as a mock trial judge, showing a continued connection to legal education and the next generation of attorneys.
Hon. Ralph M. Ramirez
Waukesha County Circuit Court
After 42 years in public service, including 27 years as a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, Judge Ralph M. Ramirez will retire from Branch 3 at the end of the day on Aug. 9, 2026.
Judge Ramirez was first elected to the bench in 1999. Before becoming a judge, he served for 15 years as an assistant district attorney, first in Eau Claire County and then in Waukesha County.
Judge Ramirez earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1981 and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1984. His retirement letter notes that his judicial service is part of a 42-year career in public service, including his years as a prosecutor and more than two decades on the Waukesha County bench.
In 2021, Judge Ramirez received the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Judge of the Year Award. award recognizes an outstanding circuit court judge who has improved the judicial system through leadership in advancing the quality of justice, judicial education, or innovative programs.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of Waukesha County and the State of Wisconsin as a judge since 1999,” Judge Ramirez wrote. “I am grateful for the opportunities my position has afforded me and blessed to have worked with many talented and dedicated professionals in the justice system.”
Hon. Paul R. Van Grunsven
Milwaukee County Circuit Court
More than two decades after promising to be fair, impartial, and compassionate when he joined the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Judge Paul R. Van Grunsven will retire from Branch 9 on Sept. 4, 2026.
Judge Van Grunsven was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in 2004. Before joining the bench, he practiced law at Kasdorf, Lewis & Swietlik, S.C., where his work included civil litigation. He also taught as an adjunct professor at Marquette University Law School.
Judge Van Grunsven succeeded Justice Louis B. Butler Jr. in Branch 9 after Justice Butler was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Since joining the Milwaukee County bench, Judge Van Grunsven has served in the state’s largest circuit court system, where judges handle high-volume calendars across civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and other divisions.
In his retirement letter, Judge Van Grunsven reflected on more than two decades of judicial service.
“In 2004, when appointed to the bench by Governor Doyle, I promised to be fair, impartial, and dispense justice with integrity and compassion,” he wrote. “I vowed to listen and give litigants and lawyers an assured sense that they were heard.”
Judge Van Grunsven also credited the judges and staff who shaped his time on the bench, writing that they made his daily work “a remarkably rewarding experience.”
Hon. Glenn H. Yamahiro
Milwaukee County Circuit Court
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Glenn H. Yamahiro will step down from Branch 34 on Sept. 2, 2026, after 27 years as a judicial officer and a career that has included service as a public defender, court commissioner, and circuit court judge.
Judge Yamahiro was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2003 and was elected in 2004. Before becoming a judge, he served as a judicial court commissioner assigned to Milwaukee County’s Domestic Violence Court and worked as a staff attorney in the trial division of the State Public Defender’s Milwaukee office.
Judge Yamahiro is the first Asian American judge in Wisconsin history. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which later recognized him with its Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award in 2010.
During his time on the bench, Judge Yamahiro has served in homicide court, general felony, domestic violence court, drug treatment court, veterans court, children’s court, misdemeanor court, small claims, and civil court. He previously served on the boards of the Wisconsin Trust Account Foundation and the Wisconsin Access to Justice Commission. He continues to serve as a faculty member with the National Institute on Domestic Violence, educating judges nationally through the National Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Judge Yamahiro has received recognition from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women for his work as a court commissioner, from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office for his work with drug treatment court and veterans court, and from the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office for his defense of indigent clients.
“I am happy to have been able to contribute to a family legacy of service to the people of Milwaukee County that has spanned the past 70 years,” Judge Yamahiro said. “It began when my father, Henry Yamahiro, arrived in Wisconsin in 1956 via Honolulu, Hawaii, after attending Tulane University. He began his career as a probation agent and finished it in 1984, working with first offenders in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office. My career in the Milwaukee court system began in 1986 when I started working in pretrial services and has continued ever since.”
Third Branch eNews is an online monthly newsletter of the Director of State Courts Office. If you are interested in contributing an article about your department’s programs or accomplishments, contact your department head. Information about judicial retirements and judicial obituaries may be submitted to: Sara.Foster@wicourts.gov