Jon P. Wilcox

Wilcox was born at hospital in Berlin, Wisconsin, and grew up in nearby Wild Rose. He was valedictorian of his graduating class at Wild Rose High School in 1954, then attended Ripon College. After obtaining his bachelor's degree in 1958, he joined the United States Army and was commissioned as an officer in a military police company. In 1961, Wilcox left the Army and entered law school at the University of Wisconsin, ultimately obtaining his law degree in 1965.[3]

Wilcox began in private law practice at the La Crosse, Wisconsin, firm of Steele, Smyth, Klos & Flynn. Wilcox would later refer to Jerry Klos as his mentor. After a few years in La Crosse, Wilcox and his wife purchased 2500 acres of farmland near Wautoma and relocated there. In 1968, he formed his own law partnership, Wilcox, Rudolph, Kubasta & Rathjen.[3]

Also in 1968, Wilcox was approached to run for the Green Lake and Waushara seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly. He recognized politics as a good way to advance his law career, and decided to enter the race. He soundly defeated Republican primary opponents Scott P. Anger and Clifford D. Bvocik, then went on to win the general election without opposition.

In the Assembly, Wilcox would serve on the committees for elections, taxation, the judiciary, and insurance and banking, and served on a joint advisory committee on automobile accident liability. He served on the Governor's commissions on reapportionment and highway safety, and served on a special legislative committee on criminal penalties.

He ultimately served three terms in the Assembly, having been re-elected in 1970 and 1972. He did not seek re-election in 1974, facing pressure from his law partners to devote more time to the firm.[3]

Though he left the legislature, Wilcox remained involved in politics. He served as Chairman of the Waushara County Republican Party from 1975 through 1979, and was the state co-chair of Ronald Reagan's 1976 presidential campaign.[4] He was also an elected member of the Wisconsin Conservation Congress from 1975 to 1980.

Wilcox ultimately returned to public office in 1979 at the behest of Governor Martin J. Schreiber. Schreiber had appointed James Poole to the Waushara Circuit Court judgeship in 1978 after the death of Judge Boyd A. Clark, but Poole died unexpectedly on the day he filed to run for a full term in 1979. An aide to Schreiber asked Wilcox to consider running for the seat. Wilcox eventually decided to pursue election as a write-in candidate and was victorious in the April 1979 election.[3] He would go on to be re-elected without opposition in 1985 and 1991.

Due to its small population, Wilcox was the only judge for Waushara County. He saw every state case in the county, for situations ranging from criminal prosecution to property or liability disputes. He served as chairman of the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission from 1987 to 1992. During his later years on the court, he also served as a faculty member of the Wisconsin Judicial College.[5]

In May, 1992, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice William G. Callow announced that he would resign, effective September 1.[6] Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson selected Wilcox to fill the vacancy, and he was sworn in on October 7, 1992.[7] The appointment would allow Wilcox to fill out the remainder of Callow's ten-year term, expiring in 1997.

Wilcox decided to stand for election to a full ten-year term in 1997, and faced ACLU attorney Walter Kelly. Wilcox won the election by a large margin, but his victory spawned allegations of campaign finance violations which would develop into a John Doe investigation.

After leaving the Supreme Court, Wilcox would continue to serve as a reserve judge, and would occasionally hear cases. He remained active in politics, endorsing a 2015 referendum to change the rules governing selection of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's Chief Justice,[12] and was outspoken about the controversy roiling the Court subsequent to the amendment's passage.[13] He endorsed Michael Screnock in the 2018 Supreme Court election, and Brian Hagedorn in 2019.

In the Fall of 2023, with a new liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court and pending litigation that threatened to overturn the Republican legislative maps, Wisconsin Assembly speaker Robin Vos began threatening to impeach the newest justice, Janet Protasiewicz. After initial pushback, he announced a plan to receive advice from three former justices on the question of impeachment. Wilcox was one of the three retired justices who advised Vos, the other two being former chief justice Patience Roggensack and former justice David Prosser Jr. Prosser's opinion was the first to become widely known, when an October 6 letter was revealed by the press on October 10, demonstrating Prosser making an extensive argument against any impeachment. Wilcox had previously denied that he had been asked to advise Vos, but the day after Prosser's letter was revealed, Wilcox also revealed his involvement in the panel. He also described his advice to Vos, telling the Wisconsin State Journal, "I told Vos that I did not favor impeachment. ... Impeachment is thrown around quite a bit today, but I did not see that there were any impeachable offenses at that time."[2] Wilcox also told the Associated Press that impeachment should be reserved for "very serious things".[14]

Wilcox married Jane Ann Heller, and together they had two children, Jeffrey Jon Wilcox and Jennifer Weekly. Jeffrey died in 2017 at age 53. Their daughter Jennifer has two children from her first marriage to Shawn Koerner.[15]

Wilcox and his wife own a 2500-acre tree farm near Wautoma, Wisconsin. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and hiking.[3]

• Wisconsin Supreme Court bio