May 14, 2010 – On May 12, Gary Sherman, former State Bar president and state representative, was sworn in as judge, District IV, Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Sherman to fill the seat of retired Judge Burnie Bridge.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, who administered the oath of office noted that Sherman’s law office in Port Wing says a lot about him. It is very old with a wood stove and many bookshelves. Comparing it to what Abe Lincoln’s office might have looked like, Falk said, “It is modest and it is humble, and that’s the kind of judge I think we are going to get.
“Like Abraham Lincoln, the breadth of what Gary Sherman brings to being a judge, whether it’s his legislative work, his having practiced every kind of case in the books being the only lawyer in town, or leading a statewide association,” she said, “those perspectives will make him a wonderful judge. When he talks people listen, he uses words carefully.”
Following his investiture, Sherman referred to his 40 years serving clients who were mostly either poor or middle class. “It gives you a perspective about how the law affects real people. In the 12 years that I have been here in the legislature, I have always tried to remember that what we are doing is real, and the consequences of what we are doing can be very grave for ordinary people. I hope I can keep that perspective as a judge and always remember this is about real lives and real people.”
Sherman, who served as State Bar president from 1994 to 1995, has represented the 74th Assembly District as a Democrat since 1999. He has practiced law in Port Wing since 1974.
Sherman graduated cum laude from the U.W. Law School in 1973 and subsequently served as legal counsel in the U.S. Air Force before entering private practice.
While in the state Legislature, he served on the Joint Committee on Finance, co-chaired the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology, and chaired the Assembly Committee on Forestry. Sherman also was a member of the Special Committee on State-Tribal Relations and the Employee Trust Funds and the Group Insurance boards.
