William Robert Moser (October 14, 1927April 11, 2003) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and judge, he was Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for 13 years. Earlier, he was a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge in

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

, and represented Milwaukee County in the Wisconsin State Senate as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Background

Moser was born October 14, 1927, in Chicago. He was educated in Milwaukee parochial schools (St. Michael's Elementary and

St. John's Cathedral High School St. John's Cathedral High School was a Roman Catholic high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin associated with the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. It was founded in 1842 as a school for boys (in the basement of the church at what is now the north ...

. From 1945-1947 he served in the United States Army as a paratrooper and a

criminal investigator A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

; then earned his Bachelor of Science degree at

St. Norbert College St. Norbert College (SNC) is a private Norbertine liberal arts college in De Pere, Wisconsin. Founded in October 1898 by Abbot Bernard Pennings, a Norbertine priest and educator, the school was named after Saint Norbert of Xanten. In 1952, the co ...

, and LL.B. from Marquette University Law School, and went into practice as an attorney. He became a member of the Advisory Council to Mayor of Milwaukee

Frank P. Zeidler Frank Paul Zeidler (September 20, 1912 – July 7, 2006) was an American socialist politician and mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving three terms from April 20, 1948, to April 18, 1960. Zeidler, a member of the Socialist Party of America, ...

, and a director or active member of various civic, veterans and fraternal organizations.

Legislative office

In 1956 he was elected to the 6th Senatorial District (the 7th, 10th, & 13th

Wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

of the City of Milwaukee) to succeed fellow Democrat

William A. Schmidt William A. Schmidt (May 21, 1902 – June 19, 1992) was an American welder and shop foreman who served two terms as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Senate from the Sixth District (the 2nd, 7th, 10th, 20th & 25th Wards of the City ...

, who was not running for re-election. Moser obtained a

plurality Plurality may refer to: Voting * Plurality (voting), or relative majority, when a given candidate receives more votes than any other but still fewer than half of the total ** Plurality voting, system in which each voter votes for one candidate and ...

in a four-way Democratic

primary election Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

against State Representative Cecil B. Brown Jr., former State Representative

John Schaller John Schaller (July 7, 1912 – 1978) was an American politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Biography Schaller was born on July 7, 1912, in Augsburg, Germany. He moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1913. He died in 1978.'Socia ...

, and

Brown Deer Brown Deer is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. As a suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 12,507 at the 2020 census. History The Brown Deer area was organized as part of th ...

village trustee Fred W. Voigt; and was unopposed in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. He served as the floor leader for Senate Democrats in the 1960 session, and was elected a

Kennedy Kennedy may refer to: People * John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 35th president of the United States * John Kennedy (Louisiana politician), (born 1951), US Senator from Louisiana * Kennedy (surname), a family name (including a list of persons with t ...

delegate to the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

. He easily turned aside challenges from Schaller in the 1960 primary, and from Republican Delbert Fowler in the general election; and served again as the Democratic floor leader in the 1961 session, leading the fight against the adoption of a

sales tax A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...

in Wisconsin; but resigned effective Feb. 1, 1962 to become a Milwaukee County judge. He was succeeded by fellow Democrat

Martin J. Schreiber Martin James Schreiber ( ; born April 8, 1939) is an American politician, publisher, author, and lobbyist who served as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977, and (following the resignation of Patrick Lucey) as the 39th Gov ...

Judiciary

In 1971, he was elected without opposition as a Wisconsin Circuit Court judge. He was re-elected in 1977, and in April 1978 was elected to the newly created Court of Appeals District 1. In 1980, he fended off a re-election challenge from Christ T. Seraphim, winning by 195,256 to 137,262.Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V., eds
''The State of Wisconsin 1981-1982 Blue Book''
Madison: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, distributed by Document Sales, 1981-1982; p. 866. He was unopposed in 1986, and became Presiding Judge of the District 1 Court of Appeals. He did not run for re-election in 1992, and was succeeded on the Court by Charles B. Schudson.

Death

Moser died April 11, 2003, leaving behind a wife, Mary Bernadette, a son, William, and a daughter, Mary Magdalen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moser, William R. 1927 births 2003 deaths Lawyers from Chicago Marquette University Law School alumni Politicians from Milwaukee St. Norbert College alumni Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Wisconsin circuit court judges Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 20th-century American judges Lawyers from Milwaukee Military personnel from Milwaukee 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century Wisconsin politicians