October 13, 2026 – Washington Co., Wi – Discussions are underway in Washington County, WI, regarding whether a 5th Judicial Branch is needed. Currently the Washington County Circuit Court in West Bend is organized into four judicial branches and each is presided over by a circuit court judge. The presiding Judges are Ryan J. Hetzel, Grant D. Scaife, Michael S. Kenitz, and Sandra J. Giernoth.
The Circuit Judges are elected by the people of the circuit and hold office for a term of six years.
This week, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and the Washington County Board will be hearing about the topic of a 5th Judicial Branch.
On Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 a.m. the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has a 5th Branch Discussion item. Documentation below is in the agenda packet.
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026 at 6 p.m. the Washington County Board will hear an update from chairman Jeff Schleif regarding a meeting held October 5, 2026 where area stakeholders including judges, attorneys, law enforcement, court officials and elected officials discussed the addition of a 5th Judicial Branch.
According to Schleif, “Basically, the ask is for backing to add a 5th Branch to our courthouse. A judicial analysis is done about every 10 years, and our judges workloads 10 years ago were rated about 1.06 by the state office of court operations. That rating is now 1.26. We were informed that this represents a significant workload on each judge. While we have a potential 5th branch shell in our courthouse, the cost to finish it would be about $1 million. Also, there would be significant personnel costs involved (additions to the Clerk of Courts and District Attorneys offices, the jail staff, and Sheriff’s office), not to mention additional security needs. While we have supported a possible 5th Branch generally as a County Board, we will have to completely analyze the overall situation. Such a branch would not be active until August 1, 2029, but we will need to make a decision whether to support it, or not, in the next several months. Respectfully Submitted, Jeff Schleif, District 18 Supervisor County Board Chair.”
Below is data from a Wisconsin Judicial Needs Assessment Study | 2025 that was completed in April 2026 by The National Center for State Courts. The needed for more judges, according to the study, is because of a backlog of cases in the courts. Click HERE for the full report.
WisPolitics.com ran an article last week naming Washington County, Wi as one of 8 communities across the state that may be in line for an additional judicial branch over the next three years.
What are your thoughts? Does Washington County need to add a 5th Judicial Branch?
On a side note:
It was March 5, 2020, when Gov. Evers added 12 new circuit court judgeships in Wisconsin. Click HERE to read the process.
