Third Branch, srping 2010 - Wisconsin Court System

14Spring2010THE THIRD BRANCHRETIREMENTSCourts bid farewell to 14 judgesIn the seven months between December 2009 and July2010, the Wisconsin court system has, or will, bidfarewell to 14 judges.In the winter edition of the newsletter, we profiled fourof them (Judge Burneatta “Burnie” L. Bridge, WisconsinCourt of Appeals; and circuit court Judges MichaelKirchman, Crawford County; Michael J. McAlpine,Monroe County; and Robert W. Wing, Pierce County).In the current issue, we profile retiring Court of AppealsJudges Charles P. Dykman and Harry G. Snyder, alongwith Judges William H. Carver, Winnebago County;Richard D. Delforge, Oconto County; and Michael Gibbs,Walworth County.In the summer issue, we hope to connect with JudgesFrederick A. Henderson, Rusk County; Gary J. Langhoff,Sheboygan County; Stuart A. Schwartz, Dane County;Stephen A. Simanek, Racine County; and Steven W.Weinke, Fond du Lac County.Long-serving appeals court judge willfocus on teachingBy Stephanie Hartwig, Court Information InternOne of Wisconsin’s two longest-serving Court of Appealsjudges, Judge Charles P. Dykman, will step down thissummer, ending a 32-year career on the bench. Dykman’sdeparture will leave Chief Judge Richard S. Brown as theonly Court of Appeals judge to have served since thecreation of the court in 1978.Dykman plans on remaining active as ateacher in two very different venues.First, he will continue to teach hisimmensely popular canning class atMadison’s Willy Street Co-op in the fall,and a seed-starting class in the spring.Dykman has been teaching these classesfor 10 years. Second, he will teach anegligence seminar in fall 2010 at theUW Law School.“I certainly don’t want to leave the lawalone,” he said. “I don’t intend to retirefrom the law if I can manage that. Butthat of course has to do with other peoplewho may or may not find the information I’ve obtained overthis time necessary.”Dykman said he enjoyed the constant exposure to newissues during his time with the Court of Appeals. He calledthe job “a continual legal seminar” and said he would miss“the challenge of examining and coming to a goodconclusion on the cases that get here.”But more than anything else, he will miss his colleaguesand, in particular, Judicial Assistant Rose M. Vine and LawClerk Elizabeth J. Lawson. “Without them, I couldn’t haveaccomplished as much,” he said.Dykman got to the Court of Appeals by surviving acontested election in 1978. He ran after working in privatepractice for 13 years.“It was a learning experience,” he said, “and my firstJudge Charles P.DykmanJudge Charles P. Dykman (back row, far right) poses with theWisconsin Court of Appeals in June 1979. Dykman’s retirementleaves Chief Judge Richard S. Brown (back row, third from right)as the last remaining member of the original court.opportunity to know many of the people in District Four,and to learn...how to run [in] an election.” During his careerat the Court of Appeals, Dykman went through six elections– three contested, three uncontested.On Aug. 1, Dane County District Atty. Brian W. Blanchardwill succeed Dykman. Dykman expressed confidence inBlanchard’s qualifications for the job, and said he wouldeasily fit in with the other judges in the district.“It’s a wonderful group, and it has been a very satisfyingthing to do,” Dykman said. “I would do it all again.”Judge who helped create Court ofAppeals to retireJudge Harry G. “Spike” Snyder, who played an active rolein the creation of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, will retirefrom the District 2 appellate court this summer. WaukeshaCounty Circuit Court Judge Paul F. Reilly will succeed him(see separate story).Prior to serving on the bench, Snyder was a staterepresentative. When he ran for public office, he discoveredthe downside to the nickname thathis brother had bestowed uponhim at birth.“I was the youngest of five kidsand my oldest brother Pete (age16 at time) tagged me with thenickname before I arrived homefrom the hospital,” Snyder said.“When I ran for the WisconsinState Assembly in 1974, some ofmy high school classmates did notknow who the ‘Harry G. Snyder’on the ballot was.”Fortunately, voters puzzled itJudge Harry G. Snyderout, and Snyder began a lifetimeof public service. He was one ofsix members of the Legislative Conference Committee,which in 1975 approved the constitutional resolution that ledto the 1978 reorganization of the court system and to thecreation of the Court of Appeals.Snyder said there was a debate about whether the statesee Retirements on page 15