Janine P. Geske (born May 12, 1949) is an American jurist and

law professor A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

who served as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1993 to 1998 and as interim

Milwaukee County Executive The Milwaukee County Executive serves as the chief executive officer of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Vested with veto power and appointing authority over department heads, the county executive oversees the administrative functions of county gover ...

in 2002.Wisconsin Historical Society profile of Janine P. Geske
, wisconsinhistory.org; accessed December 13, 2014.

Life and career

Born in Port Washington, Wisconsin, Geske was raised in the nearby community of

Cedarburg Cedarburg is a city in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The city incorporated in 1885, and at th ...

. She graduated from Cedarburg High School in 1967 and received her bachelor's and master's degrees from

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and has ...

in 1971 and 1972, respectively. Geske earned her J.D. degree from the Marquette University Law School in 1975. Geske worked as chief staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee until 1979. She was an assistant professor at Marquette University Law School from 1978 to 1981 and was founding director of the Marquette University Law School's Clinic for the Elderly. From 1981 to 1993, Geske served as a Milwaukee County circuit court judge. In 1993, she was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Tommy Thompson, a Republican. Geske was elected to a full term on the court in 1994 but resigned from the bench in 1998. Following her departure from the court, Geske worked as a professor at Marquette University, holding the Association of Marquette University Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies in 2000 and 2001. From February to May 2002, she served as the interim

, following the resignation of F. Thomas Ament amid a massive pension scandal. Later in 2002, Geske was appointed interim dean of the Marquette University Law School, serving until 2003.Marquette University Law School Faculty and Staff-Janine Geske
, marquette.edu; accessed December 13, 2014. Geske has remained on the law school faculty and is on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada. In both 1994 and 2002, the Milwaukee Bar honored her with its Lawyer of the Year award. In 2017, Geske was one of 54 former Wisconsin judges who signed a letter advocating for rules requiring judges to recuse themselves in cases involving campaign donors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geske, Janine 1949 births Living people Beloit College alumni Marquette University alumni Marquette University faculty Marquette University Law School alumni Milwaukee County Executives People from Cedarburg, Wisconsin Politicians from Milwaukee Wisconsin state court judges Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court American women judges American women academics American legal scholars Lawyers from Milwaukee People from Port Washington, Wisconsin Women legal scholars 21st-century American women 20th-century women judges