Judge Sosnay affirmed 18 times in 2009

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Three Wisconsin circuit court judges — all from Milwaukee County — led the courts in facing review on appeal at least a dozen times without being reversed once in 2009.

Judge William Sosnay was reviewed 18 times in 2009, and affirmed 18 times, without reversal.

“I’m obviously very proud,” Judge Sosnay said. “There are a great number of excellent judges in Wisconsin and Milwaukee County, and I’m proud to be one of them.”

Sosnay attributed his success to his experience as a trial lawyer for many years, ensuring that a good record is made in the event of appeal, and expecting that all parties be well-prepared.

Close behind was Judge Daniel L. Konkol, who was reviewed 16 times without reversal. Konkol was also affirmed 16 times in 2008 without a reversal.

The only other judge to face double-digit reviews without any reversals was their colleague, Chief Judge Jeffrey Kremers, who was affirmed 12 times without reversal.

When it comes to generating sheer volume of cases for the appellate courts, no judge comes close to Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Wagner, who was affirmed 49 times and reversed only twice.

Judge Wagner has long been the most frequently reviewed judge in the state. Since Wisconsin Law Journal began keeping track starting Jan. 1, 2000, he has been affirmed 185 times, and reversed 15 times, a 93 percent rate of affirmance.

The second most frequently reviewed judge over that time period, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Timothy Dugan, was affirmed 15 times in 2009, and reversed once. Since 2000, Dugan has been affirmed 123 times, and reversed 26.

The accompanying charts show not only how the state’s circuit court judges fared when their decisions were reviewed in the Court of Appeals, but how circuit court judges fared if their decisions were ultimately reviewed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2008.

Of Wisconsin circuit court judges with cases ultimately considered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, four judges were reviewed twice and affirmed both times: Milwaukee County Circuit Court judges John Franke and Francis T. Wasielewski; Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi; and Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul V. Malloy.

Judge Franke was also reviewed in the Supreme Court twice in 2008, and affirmed in both cases.

Methodology

The methodology for this project is admittedly not perfect: only full decisions included on the Wisconsin Court System’s Web site are counted, not summary decisions by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.

Also, despite efforts to avoid such errors, a judge could be listed in the decision as the presiding judge being reversed, even if he merely entered an order consistent with the law of the case as established by another judge; or a judge could be reversed in the Court of Appeals, and ultimately be affirmed in the Supreme Court, but the earlier reversal would nevertheless remain counted as a reversal in the Court of Appeals.

And, of course, the law changes; a judge’s holding could be entirely consistent with binding precedent at the time it was issued, and be reversed only because a subsequent decision changed the law.

The process is also very labor-intensive, and despite utmost care, human error is possible.

Nevertheless, the project has been continued over the last nine years in the belief that the effect of potential occasional errors in the methodology in any given year will be minimal relative to individual judges’ performance over an extended period of time.

Click here for charts on how Circuit Court judges fared in the Supreme Court 2009 (PDF)

Click here for charts on how Circuit Court judges fared in the Court of Appeals 2009 (PDF)