Profile

Diane Sykes: Newest Supreme Court Justice

by Dianne Molvig

Wisconsin's young people have a clearer sense of the workings of the state's highest court, thanks to increased public outreach efforts in recent years. But Alex and Jay Sykes, the eight- and 11-year-old sons of the newest supreme court justice, Diane Sykes, have a view of the court that's unique among the state's school-aged children.The two boys see firsthand not only the esteem that comes with a justice position, but also the behind-the-scenes homework.

On one recent Sunday night, some 100 supreme court petitions lay in three eight-inch stacks on the Sykes household's kitchen counter. The boys asked their mother what all that paper was. She jokingly told them it was the reading she had to do that night after they'd gone to bed, to which Alex responded, "Oh, Mom, I never want to be a supreme court justice."

In truth, those piles represented more than one night's worth of reading, Sykes confesses. Still, getting used to the enormous amount of reading is one of the key adjustments she's had to make since last September, when she switched from being a Milwaukee County circuit court judge to becoming a supreme court justice, appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson to fill the vacancy left by Justice Donald Steinmetz's retirement.

Pursuing Judicial Appointment

Sitting in her office two weeks to the day after her April 4 election, Sykes notes she hasn't had much chance yet to experience the "normal" life of a supreme court justice. During the previous seven months, she not only was learning the ropes in her new job, but also living the life of a judicial candidate, traveling around the state to speak to civic groups and local bar associations. "There were lots of late nights and early mornings ... a lot of personal campaigning that had to be done," she says. (The State Bar Board of Governors voted unanimously at its April 14-15 meeting to commend both Sykes and Louis Butler for their issues-oriented campaigns.)

Sykes knew she was in for a double-duty existence when she decided last summer to pursue the supreme court appointment. "I had many heart-to-hearts," she says, "with those who had been through it - Janine Geske, most significantly. She's been a good friend to me and a mentor. I had serious discussions with her and others about the challenges and the disruptions of my family life that this would represent."

Ultimately, Sykes decided the extra effort would be worth it - "a short-term investment for a long-term opportunity," she says. At 42, she's the youngest member of the state supreme court.

Growing up in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, she was the second oldest in a family of five children, whose parents had long careers in public service. Her mother, now deceased, was a high school guidance counselor. Her father, a civil engineer, was the city manager of Brown Deer, and later director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation, Public Works and Development.

Sykes, too, felt drawn to some type of public service as a young adult, and she viewed a law degree as one route toward that end. But in college she explored another career that fascinated her: journalism. She got her journalism degree from Northwestern University, after which she worked for more than a year as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal. Then the idea of law school resurfaced. Already married, "I decided if I was going to go to law school," she says, "I'd better do it sooner rather than later, when kids and a mortgage would come along."

It was after law school, while working as a law clerk for Terence Evans, then a federal judge in Wisconsin's Eastern District and now with the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, that Sykes' vision of her legal career began to crystalize. "Judge Evans is not only one of our best judges," Sykes says, "but also a wonderful person - and a mentor. He's the sort of judge who doesn't have his law clerks sitting in their offices doing research and writing memos. He involved us in every aspect of the job, and that was inspirational to me. I decided if I got the opportunity to pursue a judicial position, I'd do it."

That opportunity arose after Sykes had been in private law practice for seven years. The Wisconsin Legislature's 1990-92 biennial budget created three new circuit court judgeships for Milwaukee County, effective in 1992. "I saw that as a golden opportunity to pursue the goal of becoming a judge," Sykes says. She won in 1992 against two other opponents and was reelected unopposed in 1998.

Early Retirement Prompts Run

Sykes had not considered running for Steinmetz's place on the supreme court bench, should he have decided to retire at the end of his term. But when Steinmetz announced his early retirement in July 1999, Sykes tossed her hat into the ring to be considered for appointment - for a couple of key reasons. "I saw the court as being at a crossroads with this appointment," she says.

First was the issue of geographic balance. Steinmetz's departure meant there would be no one on the state supreme court from Milwaukee County. Because of the volume and complexity of cases, both criminal and civil, that judges hear in Wisconsin's most populous county, "I felt it was important that someone be appointed from Milwaukee County circuit court, having had that base of experience and perspective," Sykes says.

Second, "I saw that the philosophical bent of the court was going to be an issue," she says. "I felt I had something to contribute in that area, as well." Throughout her judicial career, Sykes has adhered to a conservative judicial philosophy, which she describes as rooted in the principles of separation of powers and judicial restraint. "I will try very hard not to be a results-oriented jurist," she says, "who figures out how he or she wants the case to come out and then makes the law fit that result. Rather, I'll start at the beginning of the legal analysis and work outward from there."

Although the decision-making processes in the supreme court and circuit courts differ greatly, Sykes says her seven years of experience on the circuit bench are invaluable to her now as a justice. "I can look at a trial court record or decision," she says, "and have a real sense of what went on. I can look at a petition for review and, based on my experience in circuit court, I can say that, yes, this issue comes up all the time, and we should hear this case because the lower courts need guidance. Or that issue isn't substantial; it doesn't come up enough. Or the law is settled, and the supreme court doesn't need to weigh in. Having that perspective has helped me in the transition" to becoming a justice.

Now Sykes is adapting to another transition: being a justice who no longer has to hit the campaign trail on the side. She commutes to Madison from Milwaukee eight days a month, on average, when the court is in session for oral arguments or conferences. The rest of the time she's in Milwaukee, where she reads, researches, and writes at home or in a small office at the county courthouse.

What little free time she has revolves around Alex and Jay, and trying to be there for their activities. For that reason, throughout her career Sykes has taken on limited outside professional activities, such as board and committee appointments. A key exception was serving on the Legislature's Criminal Penalty Study Committee, which helped implement the new truth-in-sentencing legislation. "That was very important to me," she says. "It's a substantial reform in the criminal justice system - the biggest sea change in the way we sentence people in this state to come along in 25 years. I understood that the work of this committee would have substantial impact on the implementation of that reform. So I sought out that appointment."

In addition, Sykes has been active in teaching criminal law procedure as a faculty member of the Wisconsin Judicial College. That will continue, she expects, now that she's a justice.

But on this particular April afternoon she has more immediate plans in mind: The next day she's heading out with her two sons for a five-day vacation. "I didn't allow myself to think past the election," she says. "Then last week, I managed to book a quick trip to Florida."

With the election behind her, Sykes and her sons are "settling into a nice rhythm of my Milwaukee days and Madison days," she says, "and having a chance to restore balance" in their lives. And when they return from vacation, she can begin to get a clearer picture of what being a supreme court justice - rather than a combination justice/candidate - is really like. Says Sykes, "I'm looking forward to that."

Wisconsin Lawyer