Evers signs new laws designed to bolster safety of judges

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed into law bipartisan bills that are designed to better protect the safety of judges following the killing of a retired judge.

In total, Evers signed 29 crime-related bills, most of which passed with broad bipartisan support.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court had recommended three of the bills that Evers signed, which were initiated in response to threats of violence against judges.

The bills were introduced after 68-year-old retired Wisconsin judge John Roemer was shot and killed in his New Lisbon home in 2022. The man accused of killing Roemer had been sentenced to prison by Roemer years earlier. He shot himself in Roemer’s home and later died in the hospital.

One new law makes it a crime to picket, parade, or demonstrate at or near a judge’s home with the intent to influence or interfere with their work. Another gives new privacy protections to judges to halt publication of personal information about them and their families, including home addresses. And the third bill Evers signed exempts a judicial security profile form from disclosure under the public records law.

There have been 142 threats made against Wisconsin judges in the past year, according to the Wisconsin Supreme Court Marshal’s Office.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler, in a statement praising enactment of the new laws, cited Roemer’s killing as one of many acts of increasing violence against judges across the country.

She called the package of new laws a “much-needed step in the right direction to provide safety and security to our judicial officers.”