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| Atty. John S. Swimmer |
Q: How do I request a different judge?
A: If you are charged with a crime or forced to defend yourself against a lawsuit, you must find out as much about the judge hearing the case as you can. Google is a an excellent place to start searching for information. During your research you may uncover information that you feel is harmful to your case. Your next move, if available, is to remove the judge. This is called judicial substitution. Wisconsin allow liberal substitution of judges in almost all cases. In criminal cases Wis. Stat. § 971.20 allows one judicial substitution without cause. The policy underlying Wis. Stat. § 971.20 allows a party, for any reason or no reason, to have a judge assigned to the case removed via substitution.
In every type of case, a party may, if done in a timely manner, file a motion to substitute for a new judge. The right to substitute exists in every type of case and there are statutes which provide for the specific procedure. If the party follows the proper procedure for requesting a substitution of judge, the substitution is peremptory; no affidavit of prejudice or statement of grounds for the substitution is required. If timely made the request must be honored. State ex rel. Tarney v. McCormack, 99 Wis. 2s 220, 236 N.W. 2d 552 (1980).
Timing is important. Try to make the motion for substitution before the first hearing the sooner the better.
