Jeffrey Wagner (Wisconsin)
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2030
Jeffrey Wagner is a judge for Branch 38 of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. His current term ends on August 1, 2030.
Wagner ran for re-election for the Branch 38 judge of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court in Wisconsin. He won in the general election on April 2, 2024.
Biography
Wagner attended the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee for his undergrad and earned his J.D. from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 1976.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (2024)
General election
General election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 38
Incumbent Jeffrey Wagner won election in the general election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 38 on April 2, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jeffrey Wagner (Nonpartisan) | 98.7 | 97,561 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 1,272 | ||
| Total votes: 98,833 | |||
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Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jeffrey Wagner advanced from the primary for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 38.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Wagner in this election.
2018
General election
General election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 38
Incumbent Jeffrey Wagner won election in the general election for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 38 on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jeffrey Wagner (Nonpartisan) | 98.6 | 71,889 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.4 | 1,028 | ||
| Total votes: 72,917 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2012
Wagner ran unopposed and was re-elected to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Branch 38.[2]
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2012
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jeffrey Wagner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
Former officers sentenced for illegal strip searches
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Wagner sentenced two former Milwaukee police officers on December 5 to $300 in fines and community service for their role in illegal strip searches. Jeffrey Dollhopf and Brian Kozelek pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct as party to a crime for failing to report the illegal actions performed by fellow officer Michael Vagnini. The two former officers have been forced to resign and are the last of four Milwaukee Police Department officers to be charged for their involvement in the scandal.[3]
The disorderly conduct charge, a misdemeanor, allowed for a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail. The prosecution recommended fines and community service, on the grounds that Dollhopf and Kozelek had not ordered or conducted the strip searches themselves, but rather should have acted to stop former officer Michael Vagnini from conducting illegal strip and rectal searches.[4][5] In June, Vagnini was sentenced to 26 months in prison with 34 additional months of extended supervision after pleading no contest to four felonies and four misdemeanors.[6] Vagnini avoided sexual assault charges that were dismissed in court.
Dollhopf and Kozelek failed to report Vagnini’s illegal actions, such as forcing a man to defecate into a box at the police station. The court documents stated that the two former officers witnessed Vagnini’s unwarranted body cavity searches on people he suspected of having illegal drugs.[7]
Judge Wagner sentenced Dollhopf to 100 hours of community service and Kozelek to 20 hours. Dollhopf received credit for 61 hours of volunteering he had done with Habitat for Humanity since his plea hearing.[4] The sentencing stipulates that if the community service is not fulfilled within four months, Dollhopf will face ten days in jail and Kozelek will face five days. The fourth officer involved, Jacob Knight, accepted a plea bargain where he resigned from the department and was sentenced in October to 20 days in jail. He also received a $300 fine and 60 hours of community service.[4]
The rulings in the scandal have been met with both positive and negative reactions. In response to the Vagnini case, the police department revised their policies regarding searches and records of searches. This change was applauded by the ACLU of Wisconsin, who urged further vigilance.[6] John Safran, who represented a victim of the searches in Dollhopf and Kozelek’s cases, remarked, "When officers are charged with felonies and they’re sometimes reduced down to misdemeanors, I’m afraid sometimes that doesn't send a strong enough message that, again, it’s not going to be tolerated, and people do have rights.”[3]
Selection method
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
The 241 judges of the Wisconsin Circuit Courts are elected in nonpartisan elections to six-year terms. All judges must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving after their term expires.[8]
The chief judge of each circuit court is chosen by the state supreme court to serve a two-year term.[8]
Qualifications
To serve on the circuit courts, a judge must be:[8]
- a qualified elector in the state;
- a qualified elector of his or her circuit (for circuit judges); and
- licensed to practice law in the state for at least five years.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedwew - ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2012 Spring Election - 2/21/2012" (dead link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fox 6 News, "Two MPD officers sentenced to $300 fines, community service," December 5, 2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "2 Milwaukee police officers fined $300 in illegal strip search case," December 5, 2013
- ↑ Milwaukee County Circuit Court, "Criminal Complaint: State of Wisconsin vs. Michael Vagini, Jeffery Dollhopf, Brian Kozelek, and Jacob Knight," October 8, 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Ex-Milwaukee officer gets 26 months in prison for strip, cavity searches," June 21, 2013
- ↑ CBS 58 News, "Two former MPD officers ordered to pay fines in illegal strip search case," December 5, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Wisconsin," archived October 3, 2014
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
