Maxine Aldridge White (born 1951) is an American attorney and judge. She is the chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and has served on the Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based District I court since 2020. She is the first African-American woman to serve on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
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White previously served 18 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County, and was chief judge for the 1st Judicial Administrative District from 2015 until her appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2020. Earlier in her career, she was a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.[2]
White was born in rural Mississippi and raised in a family of cotton sharecroppers. White received her bachelor's degree from Alcorn State University in 1973 and her master's degree from the University of Southern California in 1982.[3][4] White served in the Milwaukee office of the Social Security Administration before graduating from Marquette University Law School in 1985.[4] From 1985 to 1992, White served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.[3] White was the first African-American woman to serve as a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
In 1992, White was appointed to the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Milwaukee County by then-Governor Tommy Thompson, a Republican.[2] White served as a deputy chief judge of the court prior to 2015. In 2015, the Wisconsin Supreme Court appointed White as the court's chief judge. White is the first African-American chief judge in the court's history. As Chief Judge, White was responsible for securing a $4.5 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation for reducing jail misuse.[5]
In 2019, a minority of Milwaukee County Judges petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent her being re-appointed to another term as Chief Judge, but the Supreme Court reaffirmed her appointment.[6]
In 2020, White was appointed to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals by Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, succeeding the retiring Joan F. Kessler. Upon assuming office, White became the first African-American woman to serve on the Court of Appeals.[2]
In 2023, the incumbent chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, William W. Brash III, was defeated running for re-election. Subsequently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court appointed White to succeed him as chief judge of the Court of Appeals at the start of the new term, August 1, 2023.[7]