Green Bay Division court is now in session

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Hon. William C. Griesbach

The Green Bay Division of the Eastern District of Wisconsin’s federal court system is up and running.

Since he was officially sworn in as the newest U.S. District Court Judge in Wisconsin, William C. Griesbach has been a judge without chambers.

Griesbach noted that he did borrow the late Judge John Reynolds’ chambers down in Milwaukee while renovation of his new Green Bay court space was being completed. However, when working in Green Bay, Griesbach observed, his office was located wherever he and his cell phone were seated.

Now, he’s found a home — temporarily — in the Jefferson Court Building across the street from the Brown County Courthouse.

Until a permanent federal courthouse is constructed, the new Green Bay Division will operate out of the building at 125 S. Jefferson St.

As of Monday, Griesbach’s chambers were fully staffed. The Clerk of Court’s office was also scheduled to be up and running this week. Griesbach conducted his last Milwaukee trial in mid-November.

"I expect to be able to handle any cases I’m assigned up in Green Bay," Griesbach told a group of lawyers during a recent seminar on the new northern division of the Eastern District.

Case Assignment Between Divisions

On Nov. 21 and 22, the Eastern District of Wisconsin Bar Association held seminars in Milwaukee and Green Bay, respectively, explaining how the new Green Bay Division will operate.

Part of the sessions focused on the assignment of cases between the Green Bay and Milwaukee divisions. Former Eastern District Chief Judge J.P. Stadtmueller issued a general order the end of August outlining how civil and criminal cases would be assigned.

The Green Bay division encompasses the 21 northernmost counties in the 28-county Eastern District. The geographical dividing line for that division includes Dodge, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties, which are all part of the northern division. The seven counties, including Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha, are part of the Milwaukee Division.

The order indicates that civil cases will be assigned based on the location of the greatest nexus. Criminal cases will be assigned based on where the offense was committed. Civil prisoner cases will be randomly assigned to either division.

Initial case filings can take place in either division within the Eastern District, regardless of where they will be assigned. However, once a case has been assigned to a particular division, all future filings must take place in that division.

Pam Pepper, a solo practice attorney from Milwaukee, served on the Local Rules Committee for the Eastern District, which helped develop criteria for Stadtmueller’s order. She noted that the "geographic question is one more of convenience than anything else." The group looked at statistics regarding where civil and criminal cases were coming from to determine an appropriate distribution of cases between the two divisions. The committee also looked at case assignment rules from other districts with more than one division.

Division Boundaries ‘Not Cast in Stone’

Both Stadtmueller and Pepper noted that the assignment guidelines "are not cast in stone." The Eastern District will keep an eye on case filings in an attempt to make sure that case filings do not overwhelm the northern division.

"It may well be down the road that counties like Sheboygan, Fond du Lac and Dodge may ultimately come back into the Milwaukee Division," Stadt-mueller said.

Lawyers also need to recognize that there is a difference between stating the assignment guidelines in a general order, as opposed to making them part of the court’s Local Rules.

"This general order creates no substantive rights," Pepper said. "You do not have a right to have your case assigned to Judge Griesbach or to judges in Milwaukee. … What the order does is create guidelines for which cases ought to go where."

Asked about "forum shopping," Pepper responded that the guidelines were an effort to keep that practice from taking place by looking at where participants are from and where significant events took place in order to determine the nexus. When all is said and done, she noted, the judges will be final voice regarding where cases ought to be assigned.

Lawyer Response

The Eastern District is seeking feedback from lawyers regarding the initial case assignment order, Pepper added. "Let the judges and let the Local Rules Committee know via the Web site what you think is working and what is not," she said.

Members of the Green Bay and Fox Valley legal communities have lauded the fact that locating a federal judge in Green Bay will open the door for more local lawyers to practice in the federal arena.

Griesbach discussed some of the significant changes attorneys who have only practiced in the state court system will observe in the federal system. For example, rather than using court commissioners, the federal system has magistrate judges. Their role is expanded beyond that of court commissioners to make them "full partners in the trial process," he said.

Lawyers also need to familiarize themselves with the summary judgement procedure, which is very different from the state courts, he said. Finally, he highlighted the formality of federal court procedures where there are consistent expectations that courtroom protocol will operate at a higher level.

When it comes to a question of how Griesbach will run his own courtroom, the new federal judge has created a draft of procedures and practices for the Green Bay Division. His basic rule of thumb is "follow the Local Rules."

"My style has been if you don’t know the Local Rules or if you are uncertain, ask me," he said. "I’m not looking to say ‘Gottcha!’"

	Links United States District Court – Eastern District of Wisconsin

Now that the Green Bay Division is operational, Stadtmueller noted, the next big step is construction of a permanent federal courthouse. Although Judge Rudolph T. Randa has succeeded Stadtmueller as chief of the Eastern District, the former chief will continue working with the General Services Administration throughout the construction process.

Stadtmueller told the Green Bay group that Wisconsin’s congressional delegation is trying to come up with money through an appropriations bill to fund the courthouse design costs during the current budget cycle. That is estimated to cost between $1.5 million and $2 million, he said.

Once the design work is completed, it would be approximately two years before the facility would be ready to open. If the district has to wait until the next budget cycle to receive design funding, the process would be pushed back an additional year.

In the meantime, Griesbach will continue to operate out of the Jefferson Street building, utilizing other facilities for jury trials. He noted that security considerations would prompt him to hold criminal jury trials at the Brown County Court-house.

Tony Anderson can be reached by email.