Shawano County may not have to wait until the new courthouse is operational sometime in 2029 to have a third judge to oversee another courtroom.
Ethan Schmidt, clerk of courts, told the public safety committee Nov. 4 the director of state courts has indicated to the chief judge of the Ninth Judicial District that her office begun the process of pursuing new circuit court judgeships through introduction of a judgeship bill in this legislative session, and Shawano-Menominee Counties is specifically mentioned as one of the counties to be included within the judgeship bill.
“They are aware that we are building a new building,” he said. “We are one of the first potential counties to receive a third judge.”
All counties under consideration for third judge must submit a resolution to the state by the end of the year. The public safety committee approved the resolution, and the full county board is expected to vote on it Nov. 18. Approval requires a majority vote of the board members present.
As part of the resolution, the county has to pledge infrastructure and financial support for the third judge.
The new courthouse will have three full-size courtrooms, while the existing courthouse only has two.
“Usually, you have to have what’s called a jury-ready courtroom, which is a courtroom that can hold a jury trial for that third judge,” Schmidt said. “Being that we’re building a new building and it may be that we are awarded a third judge before that courtroom is ready, they’re willing to waive that and allow us to use the county board room.”
The final 2025 Wisconsin Weighted Caseload Study indicates a current need for three judges in the Menominee-Shawano Counties Circuit Court System.
The current caseload in all areas has continued to increase annually, and this has led to delays in processing and handling of all case types and exceeds the reasonable capacity of two judges.
The Shawano County sheriff, district attorney, corporation counsel, clerk of court, human services director and child support director have all agreed that the addition of a third judge and a third courtroom would be of great benefit to the operation and efficiency of the Menominee-Shawano system.
While the salary and fringe benefits for the judge are paid for by the state, other costs are paid for the county. Those costs are not yet known and will need to be included in future budgets.
Schmidt also informed the committee his office is currently purging old case files.
“With the anticipation of the new courthouse, we’re working on going through our old files that can be purged,” he said.
Over the last couple months, staff members have been going through old civil case filings.
“We have to compile a list to submit to the Wisconsin State Historical Society,” Schmidt said. “They then go through that list and tell us which case files they want and which case files we can then purge.”
Schmidt now has that list, and his staff is working their way through files from 1967-93.
The new courthouse will include a smaller storage area; however, it is anticipated that going forward, everything will be digital.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
Dozens of shelves in upper levels of the Shawano County Courthouse are used for storage of old court case files. The clerk of courts office staff has begun the process of purging some civil case filings in anticipation of a smaller storage space in the new courthouse. (File | NEW Media)
