WI law library to be named after Justice David Prosser

Wisconsin’s State Law Library will be named after retiring Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack announced the new name Friday, saying the decision was made in light of Prosser’s upcoming retirement and many years of service.

Prosser, 73, retires from the court July 31, concluding 18 years on the court. Prosser has been widely regarded as part of the court’s conservative-leaning majority and has been involved in multiple heated exchanges with liberal-leaning justices Shirley Abrahamson and Ann Walsh Bradley in recent years.

In 2011, he placed his hands around Bradley’s throat during an argument in chambers over the timing of releasing a divided decision on Gov. Scott Walker’s law curbing collective bargaining rights.