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Michael Fitzpatrick
WCLO's Steve Benton reports on Governor Doyle's choice to replace retiring Rock County Judge Michael Byron
Michael Fitzpatrick
JANESVILLE — Gov. Jim Doyle today is expected to announce the appointment of local attorney Michael R. Fitzpatrick to become the next judge for Rock County Court Branch 3.
Judge Michael Byron will retire Aug. 15 after serving since 1991.
“I’m grateful to Gov. Doyle for his confidence and trust,” Fitzpatrick said this morning. “I’m honored to serve the people of Rock County and wish to express my appreciation to the many people who supported me during this process.”
Doyle called Fitzpatrick with the news Monday, Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick is the chairman of the Brennan, Steil & Basting firm’s litigation practice group and concentrates his practice in civil litigation, with an emphasis in commercial litigation, product liability cases, insurance coverage disputes and trade secret matters.
His education includes undergraduate and law degrees form Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
When two judicial appointments in a county are relatively close together, governors typically use the list of finalists from the previous appointment, Fitzpatrick said.
Doyle’s selection committee last year interviewed Fitzpatrick as a finalist in the search to fill the post of Rock County Judge John Roethe, who retired in December. Ken Forbeck was chosen to replace Roethe.
Fitzpatrick said he will work hard on behalf of Rock County citizens and “judge each matter before me with fairness and common sense.”
He also thanked Byron for his many years of service.
Fitzpatrick joined the firm in 1985 after a one-year appointment as the law clerk to the Honorable R. James Groh Jr., U.S. Magistrate for the Western District of Wisconsin in Madison.
Fitzpatrick represents corporations and individuals in litigation in state and federal trial courts nationwide and has litigated appeals in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court.
Fitzpatrick also is president of the Rock County Bar Association and is a member of the Janesville Police and Fire Commission. He lives in Janesville with his wife and two children.