[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 119 (Thursday, September 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                RETIREMENT OF CHIEF JUDGE PATRICK SHEEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. THOMAS M. BARRETT

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 1998

  Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, Judge Patrick Sheedy retired, 
last month, after eight years as Chief Judge of Wisconsin's First 
Judicial District and eighteen years on the bench. I appreciate this 
opportunity to tell my colleagues about Judge Sheedy and his remarkable 
service to the State of Wisconsin and Milwaukee County.
  Attorney Patrick Sheedy began his practice fifty years ago, and he 
earned a distinguished reputation as a civil lawyer. He also made the 
advancement of the legal profession a personal priority and held 
several leadership positions in the Bar Association.
  Patrick Sheedy was elected to the bench in 1979. Over the next 
decade, he served in the Circuit Court's children's, civil and family 
divisions, winning the admiration of his colleagues and Milwaukee's 
legal community, not only for sound decisions from the bench, but also 
for his determination to ensure that justice was served with 
expediency, as well as with prudence.
  In 1990, Wisconsin's Supreme Court named Judge Patrick Sheedy Chief 
Judge of Wisconsin's First Judicial District, giving him responsibility 
for the administration of the county's entire judicial system. Today, 
that system includes over fifty circuit judges and court commissioners, 
and it receives over 100,000 filings a year.
  Patrick Sheedy excelled as Chief Judge. He remained steadfastly 
committed to the ideal that cases should be heard and resolved as 
quickly as humanly possible. He always did it in good humor with a 
smile on his face, but he did not shy away from making the tough 
decisions and fighting the tough fights. He acted with creativity and 
determination, assigning reserve judges to handle the overload, 
limiting ``judge shopping'' by defendants, and cajoling funding out of 
legislators in Madison. And it paid off. On his last day of work, the 
Milwaukee County courts were acting on misdemeanor cases in less than 
98 days and on drug cases in only 63 days, and his system ranked fifth 
in the country in handling felony cases. Another of his priorities as 
Chief Judge was making the judicial system more accessible and inviting 
to County residents. He secured grant funding for a study of the 
system's actual and perceived access barriers, and he involved ordinary 
people in the process of eliminating those barriers. When he retried, 
he left the residents of Milwaukee County a more effective, more 
responsive, judicial system than when he arrived.
  Mr. Speaker, Chief Judge Patrick Sheedy has earned an honor to which 
those of us in public service aspire more than any other: he has earned 
the right to look back on his career and know that he has made a 
difference for his community. I ask that my colleagues join me in 
offering congratulations to Chief Judge Patrick Sheedy and thanks for a 
distinguished career in service to the people of Milwaukee County.

                          ____________________