Earl William Schmidt (born March 11, 1936) is an American lawyer, farmer, politician, and judge. He served nearly 20 years (1982–2002) as a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge in the Shawano– Menominee circuit, and was Chief Judge of the 9th District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts from 1992 through 1998. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

, serving four terms as a Republican.

Biography

Born in Birnamwood,

Shawano County Shawano County (pronounced SHAW-no) (originally Shawanaw County) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 40,881. Its county seat is Shawano, ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Schmidt graduated from Birnamwood High School. He then attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in political science in 1962, and continued his education, receiving his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

agricultural economics Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...

and

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

in 1964. After receiving his master's degree, he spent five years abroad in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil on program to assist developing nations in building infrastructure. He would later return again to further his education at the University of Wisconsin Law School, receiving his J.D. degree in 1972. He worked his land for 25 years as a farmer and practiced law in Shawano County. In early public offices, Schmidt served as chairman of the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Town Board. His first job after law school was as an assistant district attorney in Shawano and Menominee counties, and he was elected

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for Shawano and Menominee Counties for 1973 and 1974. Schmidt was elected to the

as a Republican in 1974, winning the general election by a wide margin after topping a closely contested Republican primary. He was re-elected in 1976, 1978, and 1980. He was defeated seeking re-election in 1982 after a 1981

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

plan put him in the same district as Democratic incumbent representative

Lloyd H. Kincaid Lloyd Harvard Kincaid (May 8, 1925November 1, 2007) was an Americans, American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and the Wisconsin State Senate. Early life Kincaid was born on May 8, 1925, in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich ...

. Immediately after his defeat, however, he expressed his interest in running for the Wisconsin Circuit Court seat being vacated by the retirement of Judge Michael G. Eberlein. Three weeks later, outgoing Governor Lee S. Dreyfus appointed Schmidt to the judgeship, and he won an election for a full term in April 1984. In 1992, the

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the highest appellate court in Wisconsin. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction over original actions, appeals from lower courts, and regulation or administration of the practice of law in Wisconsin. Location The Wi ...

appointed Judge Schmidt to serve as Chief Judge for the 9th Judicial Administrative District of Wisconsin Circuit Courts. He was re-appointed in 1994 and 1996, serving the maximum of three two-year terms as Chief Judge. Judge Schmidt was re-elected without opposition in 1990 and 1996 and retired at the end of his third full term in 2002. After retirement, however, Schmidt continued to serve as a reserve judge and filled in for several cases in Marathon and Langlade counties.

Personal life and family

Judge Schmidt married Judy Eckhardt of Langlade County in 1975. They had three daughters and one son together.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1974, 1976, 1978, 1980)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Republican Primary, September 10, 1974 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1974 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1976 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 7, 1978 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 4, 1980

Wisconsin Assembly (1982)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1982

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1984, 1990, 1996)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, April 3, 1984

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Earl W. 1936 births Living people People from Shawano County, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Farmers from Wisconsin Mayors of places in Wisconsin Wisconsin circuit court judges Republican Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly People from Birnamwood, Wisconsin