William Albert Bablitch (March 1, 1941February 16, 2011) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist from

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is a city in Portage County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 25,666 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It forms the core of the Stevens Point micropolitan statistical area, which had a p ...

. He served as a justice of the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

for 20 years, from 1983 to 2003. Earlier, he served nine years in the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

, and was the Democratic majority leader from 1976 to 1982.

Biography

Bablitch was born in

, and graduated from Pacelli High School in 1959. He studied at the

University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point The University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point (UW–Stevens Point or UWSP) is a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States. Established in 1894, it is part of the University of Wisconsin System. UW-Stevens Point grants associat ...

and received a bachelor's degree from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

in 1963. He served in the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

for two years before earning a law degree from the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1968. Bablitch served as Portage County

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1969 to 1972 and served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1972 to 1983 and was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. He was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1983 and reelected in 1993. While serving his first term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Bablitch earned a

master of laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

degree in the appellate process from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

in 1987. Bablitch retired at the end of his second ten-year term on July 31, 2003. He subsequently worked as a part-time advising partner at the law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich LLP in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

. In retirement, he spent his winters in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, and died there on February 16, 2011, after a long battle with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Personal life and family

William Bablitch was one of four children born to Albert and Marguerite (' Mann) Bablitch. William's brother, Stephen E. Bablitch, was also a prominent Wisconsin attorney and became the first secretary of the

Wisconsin Department of Corrections The Wisconsin Department of Corrections (WIDOC) is an administrative department in the executive branch of the state of Wisconsin responsible for corrections in Wisconsin, including state prisons and community supervision. The secretary is a cab ...

. William Bablitch married Martha Jean Virtue on January 27, 1968, in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's popu ...

. They met while both were attending the University of Wisconsin Law School. Martha, afterwards known as

Martha Bablitch Martha Bablitch (born Martha Jean Virtue; October 28, 1944April 4, 2007) was an American lawyer from Dane County, Wisconsin. She served seven years as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, from 1978 to 1985. She was married to Wisconsin Sup ...

, went on to become 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 ...

. They had one daughter before divorcing in 1978. Bablitch subsequently remarried, and was survived by his second wife, Ann Milne.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bablitch, William A. 1941 births 2011 deaths People from Stevens Point, Wisconsin District attorneys in Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court University of Wisconsin Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni 20th-century Wisconsin state court judges 21st-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature