2 judges retiring; Walker to fill posts
Two of Milwaukee’s more experienced circuit judges, John DiMotto and Jeffrey Kremers, have announced they will retire in 2018, ending legal careers that closely overlapped since the men met on their first day of law school.
John DiMotto’s last day will be in February, when he’ll turn 68.
“I’ve been thinking about it since September,” he said. “It’s been over 27 years.”
DiMotto said that to his knowledge, he’s only the second Milwaukee County circuit judge to have served a full term in every division, from family to civil, probate to juvenile, small claims to misdemeanors and felonies.
“I’ve done it all,” he said. “I’ll tell you this — I loved every division I’ve been in while in it.” But stepping back, he said he probably enjoyed his stints presiding in the general civil divisions most. “It covers the broadest spectrum” of legal issues, he said.
He said he and his wife, retired Circuit Judge Jean DiMotto plan to travel a bit more — they’re eyeing Amsterdam and Munich next summer — while they’re both in good health. Other than that, he said, he doesn’t have a lot of hobbies to pursue, outside of some golf.
He said he would do some mediation if there’s interest, “but I’m not looking for a second profession.”
Kremers, 67, won’t step down until July 4, “My independence day,” he said. “I was sworn in on Dec. 7, 1992. I thought I might as well go out on a historical day, too.”
Unlike DiMotto, he has yet to send a formal notice to Gov. Scott Walker, who will be able to appoint someone to take
over the seats until the next elections in spring 2019.
“I’m making a decision that’s best for me,” he said. His wife is set to retire from the county in June, and they, too, expect to travel at least a little and spend more time with grandchildren.
But Kremers said he will continue teaching domestic violence seminars for judges, doing work for the Center for Court Innovation and the National Center for State Courts as long as they’re interested in his services and work as a reserve judge if he’s needed.
He may not have served in every division like DiMotto but Kremers served one role his colleague skipped — chief judge — for seven years.
Looking back, he’s proud of some the changes that were made during that time, like drug treatment court, mental health court, risk assessments for pretrial release.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s still a long way to go,” he said, in making the court system more responsive, effective and reflective of the community, because a judge’s job can be isolating and stressful.
“We make the best decisions we can every day and every night lose sleep over whether it was the right one,” he said, but overall, he called being a judge “a wonderful experience.”
The two men each noted how their careers took such parallel paths after they met on the first day of law school. Each worked as assistant prosecutors, in the sensitive crimes unit after graduation.
Then each wound up on the bench, DiMotto just a few years before Kremers.
“John stepping down is a huge loss to Milwaukee and the Wisconsin judiciary,” Kremers said. “He answers a lot of other judges’ questions.”