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Roggensack Elected To Second Term As Chief Justice

Constitutional Amendment Changed Rules For Electing Chief Justice In 2015

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Wisconsin Supreme Court chamber
Wisconsin Supreme Court chamber. Adam Fagen (CC-BY-NC-SA)

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack has been re-elected as the court’s chief justice.

Roggensack will serve another two years as chief justice, the court announced on Thursday.

She was first elected to the top spot by her peers in 2015, when a constitutional amendment changed the rules for choosing the chief justice. The position had been awarded based on seniority, but the amendment made it subject to election by the court’s seven justices.

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That change resulted in the ousting of liberal Justice Shirley Abrahamson from the top spot. Abrahamson had been chief justice for nearly two decades.

Roggensack was first elected to the Supreme Court in 2003 and re-elected in 2013. She’ll continue to preside over the court’s 5-2 conservative majority.