Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. (August 30, 1932July 23, 2008) was an American lawyer and a judge of the

Wisconsin Court of Appeals 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 appe ...

. Wedemeyer served twice on the court's

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

-based District I; he was the district's presiding judge from 1983 to 1985 and from 1992 until 2007.

Early life and career

Wedemeyer's father, Ted Sr., was an attorney and politician who served as a Milwaukee alderman, as a civil court judge, and as a

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...

supervisor. Wedemeyer Jr. graduated from

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the professional graduate law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Milwaukee Law ...

and worked as a private practice attorney in Milwaukee from 1957 to 1974. Wedemeyer was active in Democratic politics; he served on the executive board of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party and chaired Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier's campaign committee. In the early 1970s, Wedemeyer was appointed by Maier to chair the Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals.

Judicial career

In 1974, Wedemeyer assisted in the development and organization of the Milwaukee Municipal Court, a limited-jurisdiction court hearing city ordinance violations. In November 1974, Maier appointed Wedemeyer as one of the court's first two judges. He served as a municipal judge until 1977, when he was appointed to the

Circuit Court by Acting Governor Marty Schreiber. In 1982, he challenged

Judge Rudolph T. Randa for his seat on the court's Milwaukee-based District I. Wedemeyer unseated Randa in the April general election; from 1983 to 1985, he served as District I's presiding judge. In the leadup to the 1988 Milwaukee mayoral election, Wedemeyer was suggested as a possible successor to the retiring Maier, but ultimately did not run. Instead, he was challenged for reelection to the Court of Appeals by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge

Ralph Adam Fine Ralph Adam Fine (February 14, 1941 – December 5, 2014) was an American judge, author, and television personality who served on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals from 1988-2014. A former attorney for the United States Department of Justice, Fi ...

, who touted his opposition to plea bargaining and defeated Wedemeyer after a contentious campaign. Governor

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served a ...

, a Republican, appointed Wedemeyer to replace Fine on the circuit court. In 1992, Wedemeyer was returned to the Court of Appeals; he was elected without opposition to a newly created seat in District I. He became the district's presiding judge in the same year, occupying that office until 2007. He sought election to the

Wisconsin Supreme Court 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. Location The Wi ...

in 1995 and received support from the Milwaukee press, but failed to survive the February primary election. Wedemeyer was noted for his involvement in

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always perform ...

activities. Active in promoting soccer in Wisconsin through the Milwaukee Kickers organization, he was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 1992.

Death

Wedemeyer died of lung cancer, while still in office, on July 23, 2008.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1978)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 4, 1978

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (1982, 1988, 1992)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 6, 1982 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 5, 1988 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 7, 1992

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1995)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Primary Election, February 21, 1995 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 4, 1995

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (1997, 2003)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 1997 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 1, 2003

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedemeyer, Ted 1932 births 2008 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Wisconsin circuit court judges Wisconsin Democrats Military personnel from Milwaukee United States Air Force airmen Marquette University Law School alumni 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Milwaukee 21st-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers