Joe Donald

Martin Joseph Donald (born February 8, 1959) is an American lawyer and judge from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the chief judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, since April 2026, and has served on the Court of Appeals in the Milwaukee-based District I since 2019. Before his appointment to the Court of Appeals, he served 23 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.

Life and career Joe Donald was raised in Milwaukee and Shorewood, Wisconsin. His mother worked as a housekeeper for Richard D. Cudahy, who—during Donald's youth—served as chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and was then appointed a judge of the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter. Their families were close, and Judge Cudahy served as a mentor to Donald. Donald graduated from Marquette University in 1982 and Marquette University Law School in 1988. He subsequently served from 1988 to 1989 as a law clerk for the Wisconsin Circuit Court in Milwaukee County. From 1989 to 1996, Donald was an assistant city attorney in the Milwaukee City Attorney's Office.

In 1996, Donald was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson, a Republican, to a vacant seat on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

In 2016, Donald sought election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court but placed third in the February primary, behind incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley and Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg. Judge Donald was endorsed in this race by former United States senator Herb Kohl.

On September 4, 2019, Donald was appointed by Democratic governor Tony Evers to a vacant Court of Appeals judgeship in Milwaukee. Donald succeeded the retiring Judge Kitty K. Brennan.

Wisconsin Supreme Court (2016)