Third Branch eNews

Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Lisa K. Stark will retire December 28, concluding more than 26 years of judicial service at the circuit and appellate court levels.

Judge Stark has served on the Court of Appeals since 2013, following 13 years as an Eau Claire County Circuit Court judge. She currently serves as presiding judge for Court of Appeals District III and previously served as deputy chief judge of the Court of Appeals.

Her career on the bench has included several firsts. Judge Stark became the first woman to serve as an Eau Claire County Circuit Court judge when she was elected in 2000. After joining the Court of Appeals in 2013, she became the first woman elected to serve in District III.

Judge Stark also has played a significant role in judicial education in Wisconsin. She joined the Wisconsin Judicial College as an associate dean in 2005 and became dean in 2010, serving in that role until 2024. During her tenure, she helped strengthen New Judge Orientation and the Judicial College and worked with generations of judges as they began and continued their careers on the bench.

“What a tremendous privilege to mentor new judges and provide education to the judiciary across our state,” Judge Stark said.

Her involvement in judicial education extended to the Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions Committee. Judge Stark was elected to the committee in 2001, becoming the first woman to serve on it, and later chaired the committee. She served as a member through 2011 and continues to hold emeritus status. Other longstanding focuses of Judge Stark’s career have been evidence-based and restorative justice practices. As an Eau Claire County Circuit Court judge, she helped establish the county’s Drug Court and presided over it for nine years. She also helped create a restorative justice program in Eau Claire County and has remained involved in statewide efforts focused on treatment courts, evidence-based decision-making, and reducing recidivism.

Since 2008, Judge Stark has served on the Effective Justice Strategies Subcommittee of the court system’s Planning and Policy Advisory Committee. The subcommittee works with justice system partners to study practices, develop resources, and make recommendations related to research-based approaches to criminal justice.

Judge Stark also served on two state legislative study committees related to criminal justice policy. She served on the Justice Reinvestment Initiative in 2009 and later on the Legislative Council Study Committee on Reducing Recidivism and Removing Impediments to Ex-Offender Employment. She also served on the Wisconsin Council on Offender Reentry.

Before joining the bench, Judge Stark practiced law in Eau Claire from 1982 to 2000. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 1979 and her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1982.

Judge Stark plans to remain involved in several committees, efforts to support evidence-based and restorative justice practices, and to educate communities about the justice system following her retirement.