Longtime Wisconsin federal magistrate judge decides to hang up the robe next year

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker is accompanied to his office at the federal courthouse Downtown most days by his dogs, Lola, left, and Lucy. Crocker announced Thursday that he will retire next year after 32 years in the post.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker was hired in 1992 by U.S. District Judges Barbara Crabb and John Shabaz and has seen his duties expand to include presiding at civil trial, as the workload has grown for the district judges.

Accompanied often by his two dogs, U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker is a familiar figure Downtown, especially around lunchtime, and even among those fortunate not to have appeared before him in court.

With a golden retriever named Lola and a golden doodle whose once-red hair earned her the name Lucy, Crocker is often seen walking Capitol Square, taking a stroll with the dogs he began bringing to work with him during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our side gig is to put the squirrels back in the trees," Crocker said.

Crocker, 65, plans to make more time for helping animals in the coming year, among other pursuits away from the law, as he retires from the job he's held for 32 years.

As the workload for the district court judges at Madison's federal courthouse has grown, so have Crocker's responsibilities.

The exact date of Crocker's retirement is still an open issue. While his current eight-year appointment officially ends on Jan. 21, discussions are underway to keep him on until April. And even then, Crocker said, he will still likely be around for most of the year helping the new magistrate judge, whomever that may be, get comfortable in the role, continuing some duties on the bench and behind the scenes.

Known for having an informal style during the criminal arraignments where he is most often seen by the public, Crocker said his aim is to put participants at ease and to make sure everyone knows what to expect, whether it's during jury selection for civil trials — which he said can even drift into discussions of the virtues of dogs versus cats as he gets to know the jury panel — or a telephone conference with a prison inmate who has filed a lawsuit over a problem encountered at an institution.

"What you see in court is who I am after the proceedings are over," Crocker said. "I’m a pretty breezy, informal person."

In a statement on Crocker's retirement announcement, U.S. Chief Judge James Peterson praised Crocker as having "impeccable integrity, extraordinary diligence, and a unique sense of humor."

"As anyone who has worked with or appeared before him knows, Judge Crocker is quite literally irreplaceable," Peterson wrote. "But we’ll have to begin taking applications this summer."

Crocker is a Madison native, a graduate of West High School's class of 1976, which also produced Olympic champion speedskater Eric Heiden, state 4th District Court of Appeals Judge Brian Blanchard, Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington, former Capital Times reporter Mike Ivey, former Madison Police Chief Mike Koval and actress Sarah Day.

After getting his law degree at Northwestern University, Crocker went to work in 1983 as a clerk for U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison. He then worked as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., and in Chicago, and had a brief stint in private practice.

Dogs Lucy and Lolo take a great interest in whatever U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker is working on in his office at the federal courthouse in Madison. But on lunchtime strolls around Capitol Square, Crocker says, "Our side gig is to put the squirrels back in the trees."

In 1992, at age 33, Crocker was hired by Crabb and her colleague, U.S. District Judge John Shabaz, to be magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. He was hired, he said, based on his background in criminal work. He's been reappointed to the eight-year post three times.

While Crocker initially did almost exclusively criminal work — such as reviewing and signing search and arrest warrants, presiding at criminal arraignments and making preliminary rulings on pretrial motions in criminal cases — his job has expanded over time to include presiding at some civil trials. Federal rules require that the parties in those civil cases agree to allow a magistrate judge to hear their case.

Magistrate judges do not take guilty pleas or sentence defendants in criminal cases, a role that's solely for district court judges.

Crocker said he wasn't disappointed not to make the cut when he applied to be a district court judge, when there were openings that went to Peterson and U.S. District Judge William Conley.

"What I’m doing now is a better fit for my skill set," he said.

And he's enjoyed every minute of it: "If there was ever a bad day here, I can't recall it," Crocker said. "It's just been very fulfilling."

What's next, Crocker said, is definitely not law. He said he’ll give that up "with no regrets." He has no plans to work in private practice and absolutely doesn't want to become a mediator, as many judges do in retirement.

Instead, he and his wife, Shirley — both "dog people" — are looking to spend time volunteering for the Dane County Humane Society and for the Vilas Zoo. He said he also once volunteered for the Red Cross and may return to that as well, and to volunteering at local food pantries.

A successor to Crocker will be chosen by Conley and Peterson, who will pick from a pool of applicants narrowed down by a local committee. The process is locally driven and different from the process of choosing district court judges, who are appointed for life by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

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