Wisconsin Justice Initiative

05/14/2026

We sum up the Court of Appeals decision affirming convictions of Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of Milwaukee's election commission who set in motion three fake absentee ballots in a quest to show faults in voting processes.

By Alexandria Staubach The Wisconsin Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed the conviction of Kimberly Zapata, the former deputy director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission , who...

05/09/2026

Many thanks to our bronze-level sponsors for our big May 14 fundraiser event: Victoria Dietel-Bargender (of the Gimbel Reilly Guerin & Brown law firm), Edgar Lin (of Protect Democracy), and WJI's own Margo Kirchner!

05/09/2026

Wisconsin Justice Initiative thanks these terrific silver sponsors of our May 14 fundraiser and speaker event: Alexandria and Zane Staubach, von Briesen & Roper, and MacGillis Injury Law. We greatly appreciate their support of our event and our work!

05/09/2026

Wisconsin Justice Initiative thanks these top-notch silver sponsors of our big May 14 fundraiser and speaker event: Peter Goldberg, Craig Johnson & Paige Styler, Habush Habush & Rottier and Sweet & Associates. We are so glad for their support of our event and our work!

05/08/2026

Are you interested in justice issues but have limited time? In a new series of book reviews, Wisconsin Justice Initiative helps you decide what's of interest to you and worth your time. Check out former WJI executive director Gretchen Schuldt's review of Joan Biskupic's book about Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

​ If you're reading this blog, you are very likely concerned about justice in Wisconsin, the country, and across the world. But you're probably also pretty busy. How do you choose which books about...

05/08/2026

WJI thanks these terrific gold-level sponsors for our big fundraiser on May 14: Literacy Services of Wisconsin, Gretchen Schult, and Leonard Sobczak!

We appreciate Gretchen and Leonard's frequent support of WJI's work!

Literacy Services of Wisconsin itself is doing great work, too—check them out at https://literacyservices.org/

05/07/2026

Kudos to these gold-level sponsors for WJI's big fundraiser event next week: Jackie Boynton & Peter McAvoy, Jim Gramling, and JAMS arbitration and mediation services! These sponsors help WJI do what it does!

Jackie and Jim are gold-level WJI board members, too!

Check out JAMS' services if you need mediation or arbitration: https://www.jamsadr.com/

05/07/2026

We greatly appreciate the support of Tim Burns and the Burns Bair law firm, a platinum sponsor for next week's fundraiser and speaker event! Check them out at https://burnsbair.com/

05/07/2026

The Wisconsin Policy Forum took an in-depth look at data regarding Wisconsin's criminal justice system. We summarize some of the key points in this blog post.

​By Alexandria Staubach A recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report highlights problems in Wisconsin’s criminal justice system ranging from the state’s continued place as a national leader in the...

05/04/2026

Our latest blog post is a special one. We've been wanting to publish a story about Lloyd Barbee for quite some time, and our fabulous writer, Amy Rabideau Silvers, got it done for us. Barbee spent his life pursuing justice for all. He fought for equal rights, especially for children in Milwaukee schools. He did so through activism, work as an attorney (including a major victory in federal court forcing desegregation of Milwaukee public schools), and years as a state legislator. Read about his important contributions to Wisconsin legal history.

By Amy Rabideau Silvers Three words—long used as the sign-off before his signature—sum up Lloyd Barbee’s goal throughout his life. Justice for All. Best known for his efforts to...