Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice N. Patrick Crooks died Monday at the court in Madison.
Crooks, 77, had announced last week he would not seek re-election at the end of his term next year. He was in his 39th year as a Wisconsin jurist, the last 20 as a member of the state's high court.
Crooks did not appear in person for oral arguments before the court on Friday, though he listened on Wisconsin Eye and participated in votes, Chief Justice Patience Roggensack said then.
He did come to work on Monday for an administrative hearing Monday morning but excused himself before the session was over and was later found dead in his chambers. Police and paramedics later arrived at the court.
"Justice Crooks was an outstanding jurist, a thoughtful decision-maker and a colleague with a wonderful Irish sense of humor," said Chief Justice Patience Roggensack. "In addition to having served as a circuit court judge and on the Supreme Court, Justice Crooks made significant contributions to the legal profession as a lawyer and a teacher. He was a good friend and colleague, and he will be greatly missed by all."
Three people had announced they were running for Crooks' position, prior to his formal announcement of his retirement. They include Milwaukee Circuit Judge Joseph Donald, Court of Appeals judges Joann Kloppenberg and Rebecca Bradley. A primary would be held in February and a general election April 5.
Donald said he was devastated by the news of Crooks' death.
"He devoted his life to public service and to serving justice for the people of Wisconsin," Donald said. "He was dedicated to the law, to truth, and to justice, and this is truly a sad day for our state. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, and pray for peace and comfort."
Gov. Scott Walker could appoint someone to Crooks' seat prior to the spring election, or choose to leave it open. Reid Magney, spokesman for the Governtment Accountability Board, said there would be no special election.
Swing vote -- or not
A Green Bay native, Crooks graduated from St. Norbert College in 1960 and received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1963. He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving in the Office of the Judge Advocate General at the Pentagon from 1964 to '66.Crooks had a private practice for 11 years before Democratic Governor Martin J. Schreiber appointed him a Brown County circuit judge.
In 1987, he was a finalist for nomination as a federal judge in Milwaukee, a spot that went instead to U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller. Crooks was named Trial Judge of the Year in 1994 by the Wisconsin Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates.
He ran for the Supreme Court in 1995 as a conservative, with his campaign directed by prominent Republican legislator Scott Jensen. He lost, but ran again the following year, defeating appellate judge Ralph Adam Fine for a seat that had been held by Roland Day.
Through the years, Crooks was often regarded as a swing or more independent vote on the frequently divided court, voting with the liberal justices more often than Justice David Prosser, who also sided with both liberal and conservative factions depending on the case.
Marquette University history professor Alan Ball had just attempted to quantify Crooks' record as a swing vote. Ball calculated that over the seven terms during which the current justices served together, Crooks sided with liberal justices Shirley Abrahamson and Ann Bradley about 10% more often than Prosser did, 62% to 53%.
But Ball found that while Prosser joined the conservative block of Michael Gableman, Annette Ziegler and Patience Roggensack 80 percent of the time, Crooks actually voted with that block slightly more often -- 82 percent of the time.
"Further complicating the discussion is the label 'swing vote'--frequently applied to Justice Crooks and rarely to Justice Prosser," Ball wrote on his blog SCOWstats. " The term might suit Justice Crooks if one understands the phrase to mean simply that he spreads his votes somewhat more broadly and frequently along the ideological spectrum than does Justice Prosser.
"I suspect, though, that for most people the term "swing vote" suggests a justice who casts a vote that tips the balance one way or the other in close decisions. And by this measure, Justice Crooks seems less obviously the best candidate for the label."
Crooks is married with six children, five of whom are lawyers.
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