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The1954 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 6, 1954 to elect a justice to a full ten-year seat theWisconsin Supreme Court. Incumbent justiceRoland J. Steinle (who had been appointed the previous year to fill a vacancy)[1] won the election, defeatingWilliam H. Dieterich (aperennial candidate for state office) in the general election by a sizable margin. Prior to the general election, a nonpartisan primary was held in which both Steinle and Dieterich advanced over Perry J. Stearns.
In 1953, incumbent justiceOscar Fritz announced that he would not seek re-election in 1954. In December 1953, he retired early from his seat, and GovernorWalter J. Kohler Jr. appointedRoland J. Steinle to fill the vacancy.[2] Due to the timing of Fritz's retirement (coming shortly before the already-scheduled spring 1954 date for the next election to the seat did not need to be shifted. This was the first election to be held after anApril 1953 referendum in which Wisconsin voters had ratified a amendment that made all elections to the supreme court for full ten-year terms (whether regularly scheduled or to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of a preceding term)[3] though this change did not impact the 1954 election since a regularly scheduled ten-year election to this seat had already been scheduled in 1954 before the vacancy arose.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan primary (March 9, 1954) | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Roland J. Steinle (incumbent) | 125,530 | 61.74 | ||
| Nonpartisan | William H. Dieterich | 49,669 | 24.43 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Perry J. Stearns | 28,134 | 13.84 | ||
| Total votes | 203,333 | 100 | |||
| General electiomn (April 6, 1954) | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Roland J. Steinle (incumbent) | 297,369 | 59.76 | ||
| Nonpartisan | William H. Dieterich | 200,224 | 40.24 | ||
| Majority | 97,145 | 19.52 | |||
| Total votes | 497,593 | 100 | |||
