Patrick Willis (judge)

Patrick (“Pat”) Lee Willis was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin on Feb. 1, 1950, and currently serves as a Circuit Court Judge in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Judge Willis gained US national recognition when he presided over the highly publicized Steven Avery homicide trial; his rulings regarding the admissibility of certain key pieces of evidence were frequent sources of news stories. He and his wife, Jean L. Willis, reside in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and have three children; Amanda (Willis) Coe, Ben Willis, and Carly (Willis) Powers. [Young, Rob. "Life Behind Bench New for City Attorney", "Herald Times Reporter", 1997-07-03.]

Early life

Judge Patrick L. Willis grew up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin with his parents Hubert and Liz Willis, his brother Michael, and his sister Colleen. He graduated in 1972 with an honors degree in history from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Judge Willis then attended law school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a law degree in 1975. During law school, he served as an editor of the Law Review and his Comment “Informal Administration of Decedents’ Estates in Wisconsin” was published in the Law Review in 1974. [ 1974 Wisc. L.R. 581 ]

Legal career

Willis was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin In June, 1975. [Wisconsin State Bar number:1016344] [ [http://www.wisbar.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Lawyer_Directory&Template=/CustomSource/newresdetails.cfm&ID=1016344 WisBar | Lawyer directory ] ] His first job as an attorney was for the law firm of Muchin & Muchin in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. In May, 1977 he was hired as the City Attorney for the City of Manitowoc. During his tenure as City Attorney, Willis helped bring the S.S. Badger car ferry back to Manitowoc, and was instrumental in the revival of the Burger Boat Company thus saving hundreds of local jobs. [Young, Rob. "Life Behind Bench New for City Attorney", "Herald Times Reporter", 1997-07-03.] [Resolution adopted by the Manitowoc Common Council on Aug 4, 1997.] He also served as a legal advisor to the mayor and the common council. He is recognized throughout the Midwest as an authority on trial procedures, and has been a noted speaker at judicial conferences. [ [http://www.wicourts.gov/about/committees/docs/judconflist.pdf Wisconsin Judicial Conference Officers and Standing Committees ] ]

Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Willis as Manitowoc County Circuit judge in 1997 to fill a vacancy left by Judge Allan Deehr. ["Manitowoc City Attorney Pat Willis Named the new Circuit Court Judge", "Lakeshore Chronicle", 1997-07-20.] Upon completion of his interim term, Judge Willis successfully ran for the same position in 1998, receiving more than 80% of the vote. [Pankratz, Pat. "Patrick Willis Wins Circuit Court Seat By Landslide Over Grieg", "Herald Times Reporter", 1998-04-08.] Upon Willis’s retirement as City Attorney to become a circuit judge, he was given a key to the City of Manitowoc in appreciation for his twenty years of service. [Resolution adopted by the Manitowoc Common Council on Aug 4, 1997. ]

National recognition

Judge Willis presided over the highly publicized Steven Avery homicide trial. [ [http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/APC0101/701100633/-1/trialarchive Appleton Post-Crescent: Your Fox Cities News Source - Avery trial to start as scheduled in February ] ] The Avery trial was also covered by national news services, including MSNBC [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10003226/ Man cleared of rape charged with murder - Crime & courts - MSNBC.com ] ] and Nancy Grace on CNN. [ [http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/06/ng.01.html CNN.com - Transcripts ] ] Court TV planned to televise the proceedings, until it was determined that the trial would last five full weeks which would exceed the amount of time Court TV could devote to it. ["Court TV Backs Out of Avery Trial", 2006-12-21. http://www.iwantthenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=16&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=2785.] Judge Willis' handling of the Avery trial was discussed at law schools outside the state of Wisconsin as a study in trial procedure. [ Civil Procedure Lecture, William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, Apr. 2006 ]

Notes

References

*"Life Sentence In Photographer's Murder", "New York Times", 2007-06-02, Section A9. Retrieved 2007-06-18.
* [http://www.jsonline.com/blog/index.aspx?id=307 "The Steven Avery Trial"] Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10003226/ MSNBC]
* [http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/06/ng.01.html CNN]
* [http://www.wicourts.gov/about/judges/circuit/index.htm Wisconsin Court System]
* [http://www.wfrv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=33e4b570-9ec3-4b6a-a123-cf843118fdc5 "Judge Sentences Avery To Life Without Parole"] WFRV Green Bay
* [http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070602/GPG0101/706020581/1978 "Avery Sentenced To Life Without Parole"] Lee, John. Green Bay Press-Gazette, 2007-06-02. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.