Judge Paul Higginbotham, the first African-American to serve as a Wisconsin appellate court judge, says he won’t seek re-election to the Madison-based 4th District Court of Appeals.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Wisconsin as a judge,” Higginbotham said in a statement released by the state court system.
Higginbotham has served as a judge for 23 years. He was appointed Madison’s first municipal court judge in 1992 and elected Dane County’s first African-American judge in 1994. Higginbotham was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2003 by Governor James Doyle.
Dane County Executive Rick Phelps appointed Higginbotham as the first Dane County Minority Affairs Coordinator prior to his appointment as Madison municipal judge. After Rev. James C. Wright retired, Mayor Paul Soglin appointed Higginbotham to be the acting director of the Madison Equal Opportunities Commission until his election to the Dane County bench. Higginbotham has garnered many honors throghout his career including the Martin Luther King Heritage Award at the State Capitol Noon Ceremony and Tribute in January of 2011.
Higginbotham was born in Philadelphia and his father was a civil rights activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Higginbotham is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin Law School and is a resident of Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
He will serve until his current six-year term ends on July 31, 2017. An election to replace him will take place in April 2017.
