Louis J. Ceci

Louis John Ceci (September 10, 1927 – January 27, 2026) was an American lawyer, jurist and Republican politician. He was a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 1982 through 1993, after serving eight years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County. Ceci previously represented northern Milwaukee County in the Wisconsin State Assembly during the 1965 session.

Early life Louis Ceci was born in New York City on September 10, 1927, the son of Italian American immigrants. At fourteen, he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to live with his eldest brother, Gabriel, and his wife, Mary. Before completing high school, at age 17, he enlisted in the United States Navy, and went to serve in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He was then employed as assistant city attorney in 1958, working for Milwaukee city attorney Walter J. Mattison. Ceci ultimately remained in the city attorney's office until 1963.

In 1964, Ceci made another attempt for election to Wisconsin State Assembly. This time he was unopposed in the Republican primary. He went on to win a narrow victory in the general election, receiving 51% of the vote. He represented Milwaukee County's 18th Assembly district, which then comprised the farthest northern parts of the city and county. During his term in the Assembly, he served on the Assembly Committee on Commerce and Manufacturers, and on the Joint Committee on Repeals, Revisions, and Uniform Laws.

Rather than running for re-election in 1966, he launched a campaign for Attorney General of Wisconsin. He faced a primary against Taylor County district attorney John Olson, but had substantial support from party leadership, boosted by his colleagues in the Assembly, and Olson ultimately dropped out of the race. Ceci went on to defeat in the general election, losing to the incumbent, Bronson La Follette. Two years later, he began another campaign for Attorney General, but this time could not muster significant support at the Republican State Convention. He quit the race before the primary.

Judicial career Shortly after bowing out of the 1968 primary, Ceci was appointed Milwaukee County judge for the traffic branch by Governor Warren P. Knowles, filling the vacancy caused by the suicide of judge John A. Krueger. He was subsequently elected to a full term as county judge and served until the end of 1973. In 1972, incumbent circuit judge George D. Young was declared medically incapacitated, triggering a new election. Ceci entered the race for the open seat and won the April 1973 election without opposition. He was re-elected without opposition in 1979. As a county judge and circuit judge, Ceci clashed at times with Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann and with the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department.

In 1980, he ran for Wisconsin Supreme Court. After a strong first place finish in the nonpartisan primary, he was narrowly defeated in the April general election by fellow Milwaukee judge Donald W. Steinmetz. Nevertheless, two years later, when Wisconsin Supreme Court justice John Louis Coffey was appointed to the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Ceci was appointed to the Supreme Court by Governor Lee S. Dreyfus. He was subsequently elected to a full ten-year term on the court in April 1984, without facing an opponent in that election. With a year left in his term, in 1993, Ceci announced his plans to retire early, allowing Governor Tommy Thompson to appoint a replacement. At the time of his retirement, Ceci's judicial philosophy was classified as one of the most conservative among the court's justices.

Personal life and death Ceci married twice. He was married to Dorothy Zukowski from 1947 to 1954, and to Shirley Haldi from 1954 until her death in 2022. They were married for over 65 years. He had six children, three from his first marriage and three from his second. He died on January 27, 2026, at the age of 98.

Electoral history Wisconsin Assembly (1956)

Wisconsin Assembly (1964)

Wisconsin Attorney General (1966)

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1980)

Wisconsin Supreme Court (1984)