Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice: Qualifications, Term, and Removal

To serve as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, you need a Wisconsin law license held for at least five continuous years, and you win the seat in a nonpartisan statewide election for a single ten-year term. Those are the core qualifications and terms for a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, set by Article VII of the state constitution. There is no minimum age, but there is a hard exit: no justice may stay on the bench past the July 31 following their 70th birthday.

Who Qualifies to Serve

Article VII, Section 24 of the Wisconsin Constitution lays out two requirements, and only two. A candidate must be a licensed attorney in Wisconsin, and that license must have been in good standing for at least five continuous years immediately before the election or appointment.¹ No residency clause beyond what the law license requires, no prior judicial experience requirement, no minimum age.

The constitution does cap the other end of a career. A justice must leave the bench by July 31 following their 70th birthday, or whatever higher age the legislature sets by statute.¹ A retired justice can still be assigned by the chief justice to sit temporarily as a judge on any lower court of record, but cannot return to the Supreme Court itself.

The Ten-Year Term and How Justices Are Elected

Supreme Court races are nonpartisan and held during the spring election on the first Tuesday in April, separated from the partisan fall cycle. Each justice serves a ten-year term that begins on August 1 following the election. The constitution allows only one justice to be elected in any given year.² That rule staggers the seats, so the seven-member court never turns over all at once and always carries institutional memory.

Nonpartisan on paper, these races have become extraordinarily expensive in practice. The 2025 contest for a single seat drew more than $140 million in total spending, surpassing the previous national record of roughly $50 million set by Wisconsin’s own 2023 race. Individual donors can give up to $20,000 per candidate for the combined primary and general election, candidate committees can contribute the same amount, and political action committees can give up to $18,000.³ Those caps apply only to direct contributions. Independent expenditures by outside groups have no cap and account for most of the money spent.

What Happens When a Justice Leaves Early

When a justice leaves the bench before their term ends, the governor appoints a replacement. That appointee serves until a successor is elected and qualified at the next spring election that does not already have another justice’s seat on the ballot.⁴ The winner of that election then serves a full ten-year term. Because the one-seat-per-year rule still applies, a governor’s appointee can sometimes serve for several years before voters weigh in on the seat.

How the Chief Justice Is Chosen

The chief justice is one of the seven and serves a two-year term in the role. A 2015 constitutional amendment changed how the position is filled. Under the old system, the longest-serving justice automatically held the title. Now the seven justices vote among themselves. The chief justice has the same vote as any other justice on cases but takes on added duties: head of the state court system, presiding over oral arguments, and overseeing the Director of State Courts.²

Salary

Wisconsin Supreme Court justices earn an annual salary set by the state’s compensation plan. For the period from August 10, 2025, through June 27, 2026, the rate is $201,973. It rises to $206,016 beginning June 28, 2026.⁵ All seven justices receive the same salary, including the chief justice, with no case-based fees or bonuses on top.

Ways a Term Can End Before Ten Years

Four separate mechanisms can end a justice’s tenure before the ten-year term expires. No Wisconsin Supreme Court justice has ever been removed through any of them, but each remains available.

Impeachment

Under Article VII, Section 1, the state Assembly can impeach any civil officer, including a Supreme Court justice, for corrupt conduct in office or for crimes and misdemeanors. Impeachment requires a majority vote of all elected Assembly members. The Senate then conducts the trial, and conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the senators present.⁶ A convicted justice faces one of two outcomes, and the Senate alone decides which: removal from office, or removal plus a lifetime ban from holding any state office.⁷

Removal by Legislative Address

Article VII, Section 13 offers an alternative. Both chambers of the legislature can vote to remove a justice, provided two-thirds of all elected members in each house agree. The justice must receive a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard before removal.⁸ The constitution does not limit the grounds for address to specific categories of misconduct, but the supermajority requirement in both houses makes this path extraordinarily difficult to use.

Judicial Commission Discipline

The Wisconsin Judicial Commission investigates allegations of misconduct or disability involving any justice or judge. It can file formal proceedings that may result in reprimand, censure, suspension, or removal from office.⁹ This process operates independently from, and in addition to, impeachment and address.

Recall

Article XIII, Section 12 allows voters to recall any elected official, including Supreme Court justices, after the first year of the officer’s term. Organizers must collect petition signatures equal to at least 25 percent of the votes cast for governor in the last election within the relevant district. For a statewide seat, that threshold is calculated using the total statewide gubernatorial vote, which makes the signature requirement substantial. Only one recall petition may be filed against the same officer during a single term.¹⁰ Petitioners must also register with the filing officer before circulating the petition.¹¹

1
FindLaw. Wisconsin Constitution Art VII 24 – Justices and Judges Eligibility for Office Retirement
2
Justia Law. Wisconsin Constitution Article VII Section 4 – Supreme Court Election Chief Justice Court System Administration
3
State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Campaign Finance – Contribution Limits
4
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Constitution Article VII – Judiciary – Section VII,9 Judicial Elections, Vacancies
5
Wisconsin Department of Administration. Section B – Compensation Provisions for Elected Officials
6
FindLaw. Wisconsin Constitution Art VII 1 – Impeachment Trial
7
Wisconsin State Legislature. Reading the Constitution – Impeachment in Wisconsin
8
Justia Law. Wisconsin Constitution Article VII Section 13 – Justices and Judges Removal by Address
9
Wisconsin Court System. Wisconsin Judicial Commission
10
Justia Law. Wisconsin Constitution Article XIII Section 12 – Recall of Elective Officers
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Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 9.10