1999 Senate Joint Resolution 4
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the life and public service of Robert W. Warren.
Whereas, Robert W. Warren was born on August 30, 1925, in Raton, New Mexico, and died on August 20, 1998, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Mr. Warren lived in several Wisconsin communities as he was growing up, graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School as 1943 class valedictorian and was a wrestling champion; and
Whereas, he served in the U.S. Army Infantry from 1943 to 1946, was seriously wounded in France in 1944 and was a member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart; and
Whereas, he received a bachelor's degree in economics from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1950, graduating magna cum laude, received a master's degree in public administration at the University of Minnesota in 1951 and served as a foreign service officer in the U.S. Department of State from 1951 to 1953; and
Whereas, he returned to Wisconsin and received his law degree at the University of Wisconsin in 1956 and set up private practices in Elkhorn and Green Bay from 1956 to 1959; and
Whereas, he served Brown County as an assistant district attorney from 1959 to 1960 and as district attorney from 1960 to 1964; and
Whereas, he was elected to the Wisconsin senate as a republican in 1964, served one 4-year term and was selected as assistant majority leader of the senate in 1967; and
Whereas, he was elected to a 2-year term as attorney general of Wisconsin in 1968 and reelected to a 4-year term in 1970; and
Whereas, as attorney general he successfully advocated legislation that increased the attorney general's ability to combat organized crime and drug dealing, established an office of consumer protection in the department of justice and was particularly proud of the department of justice's cooperation with local law enforcement during his tenure in office; and
Whereas, he was appointed U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in August 1974, and was appointed chief judge of the Eastern District in 1986 and served in that capacity until he went on senior status in 1991; and
Whereas, he earned a reputation from other judges and practicing attorneys as a no-nonsense judge who was knowledgeable in the law and who had an "incredible sense of fairness"; and
Whereas, he continued to hear cases as a senior judge into the summer of 1998, a few months before his death; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend the devoted public service that Robert W. Warren gave to this state and to the federal judiciary, express their sorrow at his death and extend condolences to his family and friends; and, be it further
Resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide copies of this joint resolution to Mr. Warren's wife, Laverne; to his sons, Iver, Gregg and Lyle; and to his daughters, Cheryl, Treva and Tara.
