Grau steps up as new chief judge in 9th District

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When Marathon County Circuit Court Judge Dorothy L. Bain took a leave of absence in late July, Judge Gregory E. Grau had no idea he would succeed his longtime colleague as chief judge in the 9th District.

But on Sept. 8, the state Supreme Court named Grau the new chief of the 12-county district after Bain resigned from the court on Aug. 5, just five days into her fourth two-year term as chief.

“Frankly, I didn’t seek it,” said Grau, who is the presiding judge in Marathon County and previously served as deputy chief judge in the district. “Unfortunately, Judge Bain was forced to step down and the district needed somebody to step up and in the end, I heeded to the call of duty.”

Grau said he spoke briefly with Bain, who had been recovering from a stroke she suffered in 2006, about transitioning into the role of chief. Less than a week into the job, Grau’s focus has been largely on his own caseload, which has been affected by the absence of Bain.

He indicated that the top priority in the district will be to address case processing efficiency. Given that Marathon is down a full-time judge, several counties have new judges and high case-per-judge rates, Grau said it is imperative that the district work together.

“Some counties have caseloads significantly higher than average and I think one of the things we need to look at is sharing judges so we can effectively deal with this issue districtwide and not on a county by county basis,” said Grau, who does not plan to apply for a reduced caseload during his tenure as chief judge.

Grau also expects to appoint a deputy chief judge within the next week. Vilas County Circuit Court Judge Neal A. Nielsen served as deputy chief under Bain.

“I’ll be talking to him and I’ll see if wishes to continue on in this position and then take it from there,” said Grau.

Gov. Jim Doyle has yet to appoint a replacement for Bain and a staff member in Marathon County Clerk of Courts Office did not expect one to come until December.

Grau, who joined the bench in 1995, will serve the remainder of Bain’s term as chief judge, which ends on July 31, 2010.