2022 Judge Rudolph T. Randa Lecture and Award

 Lecture Title:  Moore v. Harper: the “Biggest Federalism Issue . . . Ever”? A preview of the forthcoming SCOTUS case on the “independent state legislature” theory. 

Award Recipient:

• Judge Diane S. Sykes, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Presented by:

• Judge Michael B. Brennan, United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

Please join the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society at the Milwaukee Athletic Club on October 27, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. for a ceremony honoring Judge Diane S. Sykes with the Judge Rudolph T. Randa Award.

Each year, the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society presents the Judge Rudolph T. Randa Award to an individual whose work on behalf of the rule of law and the legal principles our Society exists to uphold is as unquestioned as it is longstanding.  Judge Randa, the Award’s namesake, served on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.  He was a friend and patron of the Milwaukee Lawyers Chapter; but more importantly he lived the principles that most animate citizens in a free republic and, as a judge, scrupulously adhered to the law as written. 

Past award winners include Michael W. Grebe, Richard M. Esenberg, and Judge William Griesbach.  This year the recipient of the Award is Judge Diane S. Sykes of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. 

Chief Judge Sykes was nominated to the Seventh Circuit by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in June 2004. She became chief judge on July 4, 2020. Prior to her appointment to the federal bench, she served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court (1999–2004) and on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court (1992–1999). She previously practiced law in Milwaukee (1985–1992) and was a law clerk to U.S. District Judge Terence Evans (1984–1985). She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1980 and a law degree from Marquette Law School in 1984. Between college and law school, she was a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal.

Joining us to present the award to Judge Sykes is her colleague Judge Michael B. Brennan, also a judge on the Seventh Circuit.  Judge Brennan previously worked as a partner in the Milwaukee law firm of Gass Weber Mullins LLC, where he tried cases and handled appeals in federal and state courts, as a judge on the Milwaukee County Circuit, where he presided over a variety of criminal and civil calendars, and as an assistant district attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office. Judge Brennan’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Notre Dame, and his law degree is from Northwestern University School of Law, where he was an editor on the law review and the moot court champion.   He served as a law clerk on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Tickets:

$20 General / Private Sector | $15 Government / Non-Profit

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As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.