Evers Appointee Announces Candidacy for Circuit Court

Anderson Gansner. Photo courtesy of Gansner’s campaign.

A judge appointed by Gov. Tony Evers earlier this year has announced his candidacy for a full term on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Anderson Gansner was appointed to Branch 46 in May this year, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of Judge David Feiss. Gansner has to date been finishing Feiss’s term, which ends July 31, 2024. He announced Monday his intention to run for a full six-year term on the court.

“I’m running to continue serving as a judge in Milwaukee County, where I’ve had the honor of stepping into this role,” Gansner said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “It’s a responsibility I take seriously, working every day to ensure fairness and understanding in our court system.”

Before his appointment, Gansner spent 10 years as an Associate Federal Defender representing indigent clients facing federal felony charges. He began his career in the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, working as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Appeals Division. Then Gansner clerked for federal judges in Indiana and on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Tennessee. He also worked for three years at Milwaukee-based law firm Gass Turek practicing civil litigation.

Gansner went to undergrad at Pomona State College in California and graduated from Northwestern University School of Law. He has also served on the local rules committee for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Upon his appointment in May, a classmate at Northwestern and a co-worker in the Federal Defender Services’ office, Gabriela Leija, called Gansner “a dedicated, passionate, and experienced attorney, who works tirelessly to ensure that the legal system never overlooks the humanity of his clients.”

UPDATE: An earlier version of this piece misstated Gansner’s two federal clerk positions.