Court Staff of the Year

Listen to this article

Court Staff Award Winner

Marjean Schlagenhaft
Court Reporter, Racine County Circuit Court, Branch 5

For 29 years, Marjean Schlagenhaft has been Judge Dennis J. Barry’s court reporter, not only reporting the proceedings and producing transcripts, but handling whatever the judge needed done. She even runs the calendars one week ahead of time to give the judge a “heads-up” on things that might need additional attention. For several years before that, she was Judge Richard G. Harvey’s court reporter.

Through more than 30 years with the Racine court and seven years before that as an assistant court reporter in Elkhorn, she has found the work interesting. She notes that she has rotated through each division several times with Judge Barry and watching the way he handles cases and people in conflict has remained one of the most interesting aspects of her job.

“He is so good with people, especially people with children, getting them to resolve their conflicts,” Schlagenhaft says, noting the effective way he deals with couples in family court.

One of the most satisfying things throughout her 38 years as a court reporter has come from getting her transcripts done without being late, which she acknowledges required working many nights and weekends.

She plans to retire at the end of this year and put her energy into several other endeavors, including working toward her certification as a master gardener.

“Marge’s skills as a court reporter are unsurpassed. She is virtually flawless in her accuracy and speed. Her courtroom presence is professional and dignified. Incredibly, she has never needed nor sought workload help, even when we were assigned to busy rotations such as the felony or civil divisions. … She offers to assist other busy reporters whenever she can and she is highly respected by attorneys and staff,” writes Hon. Dennis J. Barry, Racine County Circuit Court.

Court Staff – Honoree

Bruce Harvey
District Court Administrator,
Milwaukee County Circuit Court

“In his role as district court administrator, Bruce is responsible for implementing policies and directives from Madison within county and state budget constraints while trying to ensure that our judges have the resources necessary to do their jobs. He has done all this with distinction,” writes Jeffrey Kremers, Chief Judge, Milwaukee County Circuit Court.