Daniel L. LaRocque

Last updated
The Honorable
Daniel L. LaRocque
Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District III
In office
December 21, 1984 –July 31, 1997
Childrenat least 5
Education

Daniel L. LaRocque (born 1936) is a retired American lawyer and judge. He was a Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for twelve years after serving as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in Marathon County. Prior to his judicial service, he was district attorney for Marathon County for 13 years.

Contents

Early life and education

He attended the Central Michigan University College of Journalism and worked briefly for the Milwaukee Journal in 1959 and 1960. He continued his education, however, and earned his law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1962. [1] Later in life, he would return to further his education at the Institute of Judicial Administration at the New York University School of Law. [2]

After obtaining his law degree, he briefly worked as an attorney in Wausau, Wisconsin, in partnership with Robert W. Dean —who would also later serve as an Appeals Court judge—but soon was hired as an assistant district attorney in Marathon County, under Patrick L. Crooks. [3]

In 1964, Crooks announced his plans to leave office and endorsed LaRocque as his successor as district attorney. LaRocque went on to win election that November, running on the Democratic Party ticket. [4] He was subsequently re-elected six times as district attorney, serving up until his election to the judiciary.

LaRocque's years as district attorney would be formative for both himself and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Among the men who worked as colleagues or employees of LaRocque during this time were: Anthony S. "Tony" Earl, who would become 41st Governor of Wisconsin; Francis E. Bachhuber III, nephew of then-federal judge James Edward Doyle and cousin of future-Governor Jim Doyle; and Dave Obey, who would go on to represent northwestern Wisconsin in the United States House of Representatives for nearly 40 years. [5] Tony Earl, in particular, would be a close ally to LaRocque for the rest of his career.

Judicial career

In 1977, he was elected County Judge in Marathon County and took office the following January. The timing coincided with a significant reorganization of the Wisconsin court system. On August 1, 1978, eight months after he took office, the existing Wisconsin county courts and circuit courts were combined into the current system of Wisconsin circuit courts; LaRocque became a judge of the Marathon circuit. He won re-election in 1984 without opposition, and, later that year, he was appointed Chief Judge of the 9th Judicial Administrative District by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. However, only a few months after beginning his term as Chief Judge, the death of Judge John P. Foley created a vacancy on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. His old colleague, Governor Tony Earl, appointed him to the vacant seat. [6] He won election to a full term on the court in 1985, and was subsequently re-elected in 1991. He retired at the end of his second full term in 1997, but continued to serve as a reserve judge in circuit and appeals cases for several years.

Union decertifications

As a reserve judge, LaRocque ruled in one of several cases arising out of the infamous 2011 Budget Repair Law. One of the law's controversial provisions was the requirement for annual recertification elections for unions representing state employees, under a process managed by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC). In 2014, the WERC determined two unions had failed to meet a filing deadline to qualify for recertification, and therefore decertified the unions. The two unions sued in state court and prevailed at the circuit court level. The WERC challenged the ruling to the District I Court of Appeals, where Judge LaRocque sat in with judges William W. Brash III and Kitty K. Brennan. The panel ruled in favor of the unions, finding that, under the plain language of the statute, an incumbent union can only be decertified by an election of the members. The ruling was a significant limitation on a new power claimed under the Budget Repair Law. [7]

Personal life and family

Judge LaRocque has been married three times. He married his first wife, Rosalie, in 1959. They had five children together before they petitioned for divorce in 1982. The divorce was heavily litigated over several years and ultimately resulted in a case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1987 to settle the issues of property and alimony. [8] His second wife was Donna J. Seidel, a Democratic politician who served in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Judge LaRocque and Donna Seidel divorced in 1993. He and his third wife, Jean Frey, moved to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, after his retirement. [2]

Nepotism controversy

In 2008, LaRocque's longtime friend, former Governor Tony Earl, was involved in a scandal over the hiring of Judge LaRocque's nephew, also named Daniel LaRocque. In 2005, the younger LaRocque was seeking a position as a lawyer in the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, and, at his request, the former Governor contacted the hiring manager to provide a character reference. [9] A review by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission found, in 2008, that this had politically tainted the civil service hiring process. After receiving the call from Earl, the hiring manager, Hal Bergan, broke several department rules in the hiring process, including failing to perform reference checks with a previous employer, failing to include members of minority communities in the interview panel, and asking questions which appeared slanted in favor of LaRocque. The hearing examiner ordered the department to pay $346,000 in compensation for two internal candidates who were passed over for the job. For his part, Earl defended his action by stating that his action was not political, but personal, saying, "I've known the family for many, many years. I would not have given him a character reference if I didn't know him well. I was very comfortable doing that." [10]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (1985)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District III Election, 1985 [11]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
General Election, April 2, 1985
Nonpartisan Daniel L. LaRocque (incumbent) 75,406 50.32%
Nonpartisan Randall E. Morey74,44049.68%
Plurality9660.64%
Total votes149,846 100.0%

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Doyle</span> 44th Governor of Wisconsin, 41st Attorney General of Wisconsin

James Edward Doyle Jr. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. In his first election to the governorship, he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican governor Scott McCallum. Although in 2002 Democrats increased their number of governorships, Doyle was the only one of them to unseat a Republican.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Walsh Bradley</span> American judge (born 1950)

Ann Walsh Bradley is an American lawyer and jurist, and the longest currently-serving justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 1995 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2015. She has announced she will not run for re-election again; her term expires July 31, 2025. She previously served ten years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Marathon County, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Court of Appeals</span> Intermediate appellate court of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appellate cases. Published Court of Appeals opinions are considered binding precedent until overruled by the Supreme Court; unpublished opinions are not. The Court hears most appeals in three-judge panels, but appeals of circuit court decisions in misdemeanor, small claims, and municipal ordinance cases are decided by a single judge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald J. Boileau</span> 20th century American politician

Gerald John Boileau was an American lawyer and progressive Republican politician from Wausau, Wisconsin. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1931 to 1939. After leaving Congress, he served another 27 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in northern Wisconsin. Later in life, he served briefly as acting circuit judge in Kenosha County.

James Edward Doyle Sr. was an American lawyer and jurist from Madison, Wisconsin. He served 22 years as a United States district judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, from 1965 until his death in 1987. Earlier in his life, as a former member of the disbanded Wisconsin Progressive Party, he played an important role in reshaping the Democratic Party of Wisconsin in the 1950s, and was the father of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.

Gregory B. Huber is a retired American lawyer, politician, and judge. He served 18 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Marathon County and was chief judge of the 9th District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts from 2016 through 2022. Previously, he represented northern Marathon County as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles V. Bardeen</span> 19th century American judge

Charles Valdo Bardeen Sr. was an American lawyer and judge in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1898 until his death in 1903. Previously, he served six years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in north-central Wisconsin and was city attorney for Wausau, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis C. Silverthorn</span> 19th century American politician

Willis Chisholm Silverthorn was a Canadian American immigrant, lawyer, and politician. He was a Wisconsin circuit court judge for 11 years and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Wisconsin in 1896. Earlier in his life, he served two years each in the Wisconsin State Senate and the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Edward R. Brunner is an American lawyer and retired judge. He was a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 2007 through 2011 in the Wausau-based District III. Previously, he was a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for 19 years, and was Chief Judge of the 10th District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts from 1999 through 2005.

Paul Lundsten is an American lawyer and retired judge. He served as a state Assistant Attorney General and as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for the Madison-based District IV court serving 24 counties.

Michael W. Hoover is an American lawyer and retired jurist from Wausau, Wisconsin. He was a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for 18 years in the Wausau-based 3rd district, serving from 1997 to 2015.

John Patrick Foley II was an American lawyer and jurist from Manitowoc, Wisconsin. He was a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 1978 until his death in 1984, and was presiding judge of the 3rd Appeals district for his last three years. He previously served two years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in northwest Wisconsin.

W. Patrick Donlin was an American lawyer and judge. He was one of the first judges of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, serving from 1978 to 1981, and, before that, was a county and circuit judge in Price County, Wisconsin. He left the judiciary in 1981 to become supreme advocate of the Knights of Columbus, a title he held until his death.

Frank Edward Bachhuber was an American lawyer, businessman, and Democratic politician from Wausau, Wisconsin. He served one term in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the northeast quarter of Marathon County during the 1933 legislative term. His father, Andrew Bachhuber, and grandfather, Max Bachhuber, also served in the Assembly, as did his daughter, Ruth Bachhuber Doyle. He was also a grandfather of Jim Doyle, the 44th governor of Wisconsin.

Thomas Michael Hruz is an American lawyer and jurist, serving as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Wausau-based District III. He was appointed in 2014 by former Governor Scott Walker.

Earl William Schmidt is an American lawyer, farmer, politician, and judge. He served nearly 20 years (1982–2002) as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in the Shawano–Menominee circuit, and was Chief Judge of the 9th District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts from 1992 through 1998. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving four terms as a Republican.

Mark A. Seidl is an American lawyer and jurist. He served as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for a six-year term (2015–2021) in the court's Wausau-based District III. He did not seek a second term in 2021.

Jennifer Elise Nashold is an American attorney, currently serving as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She was elected in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Wisconsin elections</span> 2021 elections in Wisconsin, United States

The 2021 Wisconsin Spring Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on April 6, 2021. There was one statewide race—for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additionally, two special elections occurred for the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly, as well as other nonpartisan local and judicial elections. The 2021 Spring primary was held on February 16, 2021.

Gregory B. Gill, Jr. is an American attorney and judge. He is currently serving as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Outagamie County, since 2011, but was elected in April 2021 to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, with a term set to begin August 1, 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "LaRocque candidate for re-election". Wausau Daily Record-Herald . Wausau, Wisconsin. July 14, 1970. p. 2. Retrieved September 14, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 "Judge Daniel L. LaRocque". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Dean and LaRocque". Wausau Daily Record-Herald . Wausau, Wisconsin. September 6, 1963. p. 2. Retrieved September 14, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Freund, Win (November 4, 1964). "County Offices Fall to Dems". Wausau Daily Record-Herald . Wausau, Wisconsin. p. 1. Retrieved September 13, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Francis Bachhuber, 25, Named Assistant DA". Wausau Daily Record-Herald . Wausau, Wisconsin. May 5, 1966. p. 1. Retrieved September 14, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "LaRocque named appeals court judge". Wausau Daily Herald . Wausau, Wisconsin. December 22, 1984. p. 1. Retrieved July 26, 2020– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Forward, Joe (October 13, 2016). "Assistant District Attorneys' Union Wins Appeal on Recertification Elections". State Bar of Wisconsin . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ In Re Marriage of LaRocque( Wisconsin Supreme Court June 10, 1987), Text .
  9. ↑ Foley, Ryan J. (May 9, 2008). "Ruling: Lawyer Hiring Tainted". Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  10. ↑ Foley, Ryan J. (May 10, 2008). "Earl Defends Role in Contested Hire He Gave Reference for Acquaintance; Two Who Were not Hired Have Gotten Settlements". Wisconsin State Journal . Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds. (1985). "Elections Results: Nonpartisan Elections". The state of Wisconsin 1985-1986 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. p. 880. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Patrick L. Crooks
 District Attorney of Marathon County, Wisconsin
January 1, 1965 –January 3, 1978		Succeeded by
Rand Krueger
Preceded by
Joseph C. Kucirek
 County Judge of Marathon County, Wisconsin, Branch 2
January 3, 1978 –July 31, 1978		Court abolished
New circuit Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Marathon Circuit, Branch 3
August 1, 1978 –December 21, 1984		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Ronald Keberle
 Chief Judge of the 9th District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts
August 1, 1984 –December 21, 1984		Succeeded by
Gary L. Carlson
Preceded by Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District III
December 21, 1984 –July 31, 1997		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.