Paul B. Higginbotham


Paul B. Higginbotham is a retired Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. He was the first African American to serve on the court.

Biography

Higginbotham was born on October 14, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was a civil rights activist and marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin Law School and is a resident of Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Though the judicial offices held were officially non-partisan, he is a Democrat.

Career

From 1985 to 1986, Higginbotham was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was later a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 1992 to 1993, he served as City of Madison, Wisconsin Municipal Judge. He was the a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge from 1994 until joining the Court of Appeals in 2003. That year he ran for election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but was defeated in the February primary election with the seat ultimately going to Patience D. Roggensack. Judge Roggensack's elevation created a vacancy on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and Governor Jim Doyle appointed Judge Higginbotham to the empty seat. Judge Higginbotham won re-election without opposition in 2005 and 2011. In May 2016, Higginbotham announced that he would not seek re-election to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the 2017 Wisconsin Spring Election.

Electoral History

Wisconsin Circuit Court (1994, 2000)

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2003)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals (2005, 2011)