Rachel A. Graham

Last updated
The Honorable
Rachel A. Graham
Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV
Assumed office
July 4, 2019

Rachel Anne Graham (born June 7, 1976) is an American lawyer, currently serving as judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Madison-based District IV court. She was appointed in 2019 by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.

Contents

Early life and education

Born in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Graham graduated from Stevens Point Area Senior High School in 1994. [1] After earning her bachelor's degree from Northwestern University in 1998, she went to work for several years as a special education teacher in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and worked as a curriculum specialist at various education non-profits. [2]

She returned to school to obtain her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2008. [2] During law school, she worked as a student attorney with the Wisconsin Innocence Project and was senior managing editor of the Wisconsin International Law Journal. [3] [4]

In 2011, she served as a law clerk to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Anne Walsh Bradley. She was clerking for Justice Bradley during the infamous altercation between Bradley and fellow-Justice David Prosser Jr., in which Prosser grabbed Bradley by the neck. [5] Graham was one of several court staffers interviewed in the investigation and pointed to pressure from the state legislature as having damaged relations between the justices. [6] [7]

Following her clerkship, Graham was hired by the national law firm Quarles & Brady in their Madison office, working in commercial litigation. While working at Quarles & Brady, she was also volunteering as a commissioner on Wisconsin's National and Community Service Board, having been appointed in 2010. [3] She remained at Quarles & Brady until her appointment to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in 2019. [2]

Judicial career

On June 13, 2019, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced the appointment of Graham to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, to the seat vacated by the retirement of Judge Gary Sherman. [1] Judge Graham was the first judicial appointment of Tony Evers' governorship. [7] She won re-election without opposition in the 2020 election. [8]

Electoral history

Wisconsin Appeals Court (2020)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV Election, 2020 [8]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
General Election, April 7, 2020
Nonpartisan Rachel A. Graham (incumbent) 341,286 99.42%
Scattering1,9960.58%
Total votes343,282 100.0%

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Abrahamson</span> American judge (1933–2020)

Shirley Schlanger Abrahamson was the 25th chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. An American lawyer and jurist, she was appointed to the court in 1976 by Governor Patrick Lucey, becoming the first female justice to serve on Wisconsin's highest court. She became the court's first female chief justice on August 1, 1996, and served in that capacity until April 29, 2015. In all, she served on the court for 43 years (1976–2019), making her the longest-serving justice in the history of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Supreme Court</span> Highest court in the U.S. state of Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wisconsin Law School</span> Law school in Madison, Wisconsin, US

The University of Wisconsin Law School is the law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the school was founded in 1868. The University of Wisconsin Law School is guided by a "law in action" philosophy, which emphasizes the role of the law in practice and society. Juris Doctor graduates of the law school enjoy admission to the Wisconsin bar by diploma privilege.

Jon P. Wilcox is an American lawyer and retired judge. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for 15 years, appointed by Governor Tommy G. Thompson in 1992 and leaving office in 2007. Prior to his time on the Supreme Court, he served for 13 years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge, including seven years as Chief Judge of the 6th Judicial Administrative District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts. Earlier, he represented Green Lake and Waushara counties in the Wisconsin State Assembly as a Republican.

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

Ann Walsh Bradley is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. She was elected to the Supreme Court in 1995 and was re-elected in 2005 and 2015. She previously served ten years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Marathon County, Wisconsin.

Neil Patrick Crooks was an American lawyer. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1996 until his death in 2015. He was appointed as a county judge by a Democratic governor, later professing conservatism as a Supreme Court candidate in 1995 and 1996. In his later years, Crooks gained notice as a perceived judicial moderate and swing vote on a court otherwise divided into two ideological blocs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Prosser Jr.</span> American politician and judge (born 1942)

David T. Prosser Jr. is an American jurist and politician who served as Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1995 to 1996, and as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1998 to 2016. He is currently an advisor to Wisconsin Assembly speaker Robin Vos as Vos seeks a rationale for impeaching current Wisconsin Supreme Court justice Janet Protasiewicz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Vos</span> American politician, 79th Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly

Robin Joseph Vos is an American businessman and Republican politician and the 79th speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly, serving in that role since 2013. He has been a member of the Assembly since 2005, representing most of the southern half of Racine County. Vos is also president of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lynn Adelman</span> American judge (born 1939)

Lynn S. Adelman is an American lawyer, judge, and former politician. He has served as a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, since December 1997. Earlier in his career, he served 20 years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing southwest Milwaukee County and neighboring municipalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JoAnne Kloppenburg</span> American judge (born 1953)

JoAnne F. Kloppenburg is an American lawyer who has served as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals since 2012 in the Madison-based District IV. Kloppenburg was previously an assistant attorney general in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and was a candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2011 and 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Evers</span> Governor of Wisconsin since 2019

Anthony Steven Evers is an American educator and politician serving as the 46th governor of Wisconsin since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2019.

Paul B. Higginbotham is a retired judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He was the first African American to serve on the court.

Paul Lundsten is an American lawyer and retired judge. He served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for the Madison-based District IV court from 2000 until his retirement in 2019.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebecca Bradley</span> American judge (born 1971)

Rebecca Lynn Grassl Bradley is an American lawyer, and justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2015. She has been a state judge in Wisconsin since 2012. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Scott Walker in 2015, and won election to a 10-year term in 2016.

Brian Keith Hagedorn is an American lawyer and a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2019. Prior to his election to the Supreme Court, he served four years as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Waukesha-based District II.

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

Martin Joseph Donald is an American lawyer and a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based District I. Donald was appointed to the court in September 2019 by Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Donald served 13 years as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in Milwaukee County.

Jeffrey O. Davis is an American lawyer and jurist. He served as a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the Waukesha-based District II court from October 2019 until July 31, 2021. He has been a practicing attorney for over thirty years as an associate and partner with the national law firm Quarles & Brady.

Maxine Aldridge White is an American attorney and judge. She is the chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and has served on the Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based District I court since 2020. She is the first African-American woman to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

References

  1. 1 2 "Gov. Evers Appoints Rachel A. Graham to the Court of Appeals". Office of the Governor of Wisconsin (Press release). June 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2020 via GovDelivery.
  2. 1 2 3 "Judge Rachel A. Graham". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Rachel A. Graham, Associate". Quarles & Brady . Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  4. "Quarles & Brady Welcomes Three Attorneys to its Madison Office". Quarles & Brady (Press release). August 29, 2012. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  5. Davey, Monica (June 25, 2011). "Wisconsin Judge Said to Have Attacked Colleague". The New York Times . Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  6. Kittner, Gena; Barbour, Clay (August 27, 2011). "Pressure from GOP". Wisconsin State Journal . Madison, Wisconsin. p. 7. Retrieved September 14, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Vielmetti, Bruce. "Gov. Tony Evers makes first judicial appointment, will need 71 more to match Walker". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Canvass Results for 2020 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote - 4/7/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. May 4, 2020. p. 3. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
Legal offices
Preceded byJudge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals
2019–present
Incumbent