The Honorable John W. Reynolds Jr.
Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office August 31, 1986 – January 6, 2002
Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
In office 1971–1986
Preceded by	Robert Emmet Tehan
Succeeded by	Robert W. Warren
United States District Judge for theEastern District of Wisconsin
In office October 21, 1965 – August 31, 1986
Appointed by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Kenneth Philip Grubb
Succeeded by	Joseph Peter Stadtmueller
36th Governor of Wisconsin
In office January 7, 1963 – January 4, 1965
Lieutenant	Jack B. Olson
Preceded by	Gaylord Nelson
Succeeded by	Warren P. Knowles
34th Attorney General of Wisconsin
In office January 5, 1959 – January 7, 1963
Governor	Gaylord Nelson
Preceded by	Stewart G. Honeck
Succeeded by	Robert W. Warren
Personal details
Born	John Whitcome Reynolds Jr. (1921-04-04)April 4, 1921 Green Bay, Wisconsin, US
Died	January 7, 2002(2002-01-07) (aged 80) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
Party	Democratic
Spouses	Patricia Ann Brody ​ ​ (m. 1947⁠–⁠1967)​ Jane Conway
Children	5
Parents	John W. Reynolds Sr. (father) Madge (Flately) Reynolds (mother)
Relatives	Thomas Reynolds (grandfather)
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin–Madison (Ph.B.) University of Wisconsin Law School (LL.B.)
Profession	Attorney, judge
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1946
Rank	1st Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II

John Whitcome Reynolds Jr. (April 4, 1921 – January 6, 2002) was the 36thgovernor of Wisconsin (1963–1965) and served 21 years as aUnited States district judge in theEastern District of Wisconsin (1965–1986). ADemocrat, he previously served as the 34thattorney general of Wisconsin (1959–1963).

His father,John W. Reynolds Sr., was the 26th Attorney General of Wisconsin; his grandfather,Thomas Reynolds, was a member of theWisconsin State Assembly.

John W. Reynolds Jr. was born April 4, 1921, inGreen Bay,Wisconsin, the son of Madge (Flatley) andJohn W. Reynolds Sr.^[1] He was educated at Green Bay, and graduated fromGreen Bay East High School. He attended theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison, but interrupted his studies in 1942 to enlist in theUnited States Army for service inWorld War II. He initially served in the infantry, rising to the rank ofmaster sergeant by 1944. That year, he was commissioned as an officer and transferred to theCounterintelligence Corps, where he continued to serve until 1946. He was honorably discharged in 1946 as afirst lieutenant, but remained in theUnited States Army Reserve into the 1950s. After leaving active duty, he completed hisbachelor's degree at the University of Wisconsin. He immediately enteredUniversity of Wisconsin Law School, where he earned hisLL.B. in 1949. While in law school, he became involved with theDemocratic Party of Wisconsin and theYoung Democrats and worked as a legal research assistant in the office of theAttorney General of Wisconsin. After graduation, he moved with his wife back toGreen Bay, Wisconsin, and started a legal practice there.^[2]

In 1950, Reynolds entered the race forUnited States House of Representatives inWisconsin's 8th congressional district, challenging three-term incumbent RepublicanJohn W. Byrnes.^[3] Reynolds unanimously received the Democratic nomination, but fell far short of Byrnes in the general election, taking only 38% of the vote.^[4] Shortly after the election, however, he was appointed district director of theOffice of Price Stabilization, where he served until 1953. He also remained influential in local politics and was chairman of the Brown County Democratic Party from 1952 to 1956. In 1955, he was appointed court commissioner for the northern region of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin,^[5] where he served until beginning his campaign for Attorney General of Wisconsin in 1958.

At the urging of Democratic State Party ChairmanPatrick Lucey, Reynolds entered the race for Attorney General in 1958, hoping to unseat incumbentStewart G. Honeck.^[6][7] Reynolds faced a difficult Democraticprimary against Milwaukee County Democratic Chairman Christ T. Seraphim, who had the endorsement of the stateAFL–CIO.^[8] Reynolds, however, earned the enthusiastic endorsement of influential Madisonians,Arthur J. Altmeyer, known as the father of theSocial Security Act,^[9] andJames Edward Doyle, the former chairman of the state party.^[10] Reynolds went on to win the primary with a comfortable margin, taking over 60% of the vote.^[11] He went on to defeat Honeck with nearly 54% of the general election vote.^[11] He was reelected in 1960, and was electedGovernor of Wisconsin in 1962. He was defeated seeking reelection in 1964.^[12][13]

Following the1960 United States census, the Wisconsin Legislature failed to pass a redistricting plan in the 1961–1962 session as required by the Wisconsin Constitution. In his capacity as Attorney General of Wisconsin, Reynolds brought a lawsuit in federal court to compel the Legislature to fulfill that obligation. The U.S. District Court appointed former Wisconsin Supreme Court justiceEmmert L. Wingert as special master to investigate the issue and interview the relevant parties.^[14] After completing his investigation, Judge Wingert reported that he believed the redistricting suit should be dismissed and found no evidence that the failure to redistrict would result in "discrimination".^[15] The court accepted his recommendation and dismissed the suit, though they did warn that the issue could be renewed if no redistricting plan was passed by August 1963.^[16]

Following the ruling, Reynolds was elected Governor and resumed his push for a redistricting law. The Legislature passed a new map, but Reynolds rejected it as failing to provide equal representation for all Wisconsin voters. Finally, in July 1963, the Legislature attempted to circumvent Reynolds by passing their redistricting law as a joint resolution. Reynolds, in response, brought suit to theWisconsin Supreme Court, which ruled inState ex rel. Reynolds v. Zimmerman (22 Wis. 2d 544) that the Wisconsin Constitution did not permit the Legislature to bypass the Governor in redistricting. They further stated that if no redistricting law was passed by May 1, 1964, they would issue their own plan for the 1964 elections.^[17]

A last-ditch effort was made by the Legislature, but their final attempt was again rejected by Governor Reynolds, who criticized the partisan bias of the map, calling it "a fraud upon the people".^[18]

On May 14, 1964, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued its plan in a filing inState ex rel. Reynolds v. Zimmerman (23 Wis. 2d 606).^[19] The new plan was embraced by Governor Reynolds, who called it, "the culmination of my four-year fight for equal voting rights for the people of the state of Wisconsin."^[20] This was the first time in United States history that a state court had stepped in to draw legislative districts.^[21] Subsequent to 1964, three of the next four redistricting cycles in Wisconsin would result in court-ordered plans.

Reynolds opposed segregationistGeorge Wallace in the Wisconsin contest during the1964 Democratic presidential primaries, who would otherwise have run unopposed, as PresidentLyndon B. Johnson refused to say he was in the race.^{[citation needed]} Like the other "favorite sons" who ran in Johnson's place (such asMatthew E. Welsh andDaniel Brewster), he won his state's primaries.^{[citation needed]} As is required, Wisconsin delegates to the1964 Democratic National Convention voted for Reynolds on the first ballot, then voted for Johnson.^{[citation needed]}

Reynolds was nominated by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson on October 13, 1965, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin vacated by JudgeKenneth Philip Grubb. He was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on October 21, 1965, and received his commission on October 21, 1965. He served as Chief Judge from 1971 to 1986. He assumedsenior status on August 31, 1986.^[13] His service terminated on January 7, 2002, due to his death inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.^[22]

As a judge, Reynolds ordered the desegregation of Milwaukee's schools in 1976.^[23] That decision was appealed and appealed again to theSupreme Court inBrennan v. Armstrong (1977). The case was remanded to his court for reconsideration. Reynolds supervised the resulting five-year plan to integrate Milwaukee schools.

Reynolds was the son ofJohn W. Reynolds Sr., the 26th Attorney General of Wisconsin. His father was active in Wisconsin politics throughout his childhood as a member ofRobert M. La Follette'sProgressive Republican faction, and joined theWisconsin Progressive Party after its split from the Republicans. His paternal grandfather was also active in politics and was elected to theWisconsin State Assembly fromDoor County in 1906.

John Reynolds Jr. married Patricia Ann Brody ofLa Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1947.^[24] They met at aYoung Democrats meeting at the University of Wisconsin while they were both students there. Brody's father, Lawrence, was also involved in politics and had beendistrict attorney ofLa Crosse County in the 1920s and 1930s. John and Patricia had three children together, Kate, Molly, and Jim, before her death in 1967.^[25] After Patricia's death, Reynolds married Jane Conway and had five more children.^[2]

• John W. Reynolds at theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.
• John Reynolds (Wisconsin) atBallotpedia
• Gov. John W. Reynolds atNational Governors Association

• 1921 births
• 2002 deaths
• Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election
• Wisconsin attorneys general
• Democratic Party governors of Wisconsin
• Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin
• United States district court judges appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson
• United States Army officers
• United States Army personnel of World War II
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• Military personnel from Wisconsin
• United States Army reservists

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