The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Madison attorney James Peterson as a federal judge in the Western District of Wisconsin.

President Barack Obama nominated a Madison attorney Thursday to fill a vacant federal judge position in the Western District of Wisconsin.

Iowa County Circuit Judge William Dyke is 82, but has no plans to step down from the bench and said he is disappointed when he sees aging colleagues do so.

Senior U.S. District Judge John Shabaz, a conservative lawmaker who became an efficient and demanding federal judge, has died. He was 81.

Four of the five Article III judges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee will be eligible for senior status by fall 2012.