The Seventy-First Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 14, 1953, to November 6, 1953, in regular session.[1]
During this session, the Legislature attempted to pass another redistricting plan to supersede the "Rosenberry plan" that had passed during the previous session. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately struck down this second plan, finding that the state constitution did not allow for the Legislature to pass more than one redistricting plan per decennial census. The Rosenberry plan went into effect for the 1954 election.[2] This was the first time in 60 years that the court got involved in a Wisconsin redistricting dispute, but it would be the start of a pattern of state and federal courts handling Wisconsin redistricting for subsequent decades.
Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 4, 1952. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 7, 1950.[1]
April 7, 1953: Wisconsin voters approved two amendments to the state constitution:
Changing the apportionment rules for legislative districts to include consideration of district size alongside consideration of population.
Changing judicial term rules so that judicial special elections would be for a new full term, rather than for the remaining years on the previous incomplete term.
October 6, 1953: The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in the case State ex rel. Thomson v. Zimmerman, resolved the several questions arising from the legislative redistricting process. They ruled the April 1953 constitutional amendment was nullified because the ballot language did not properly describe the proposed amendment. They further found that the state constitution did not allow the legislature to enact more than one redistricting plan per census.
January 1, 1954: Wisconsin chief justice Oscar M. Fritz resigned due to poor health. Justice Edward T. Fairchild immediately succeeded to the position of chief justice due to the rule of seniority. Wisconsin Governor Walter J. Kohler Jr. appointed Roland J. Steinle to succeed him as justice.
April 7, 1954: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered his "Domino theory" speech, warning of the spread of communism in southeast Asia.
May 17, 1954: The United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional.
September 8, 1954: The Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty was signed, establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization defensive alliance.
November 2, 1954: Walter J. Kohler Jr. re-elected as Governor of Wisconsin.
December 2, 1954: The United States Senate voted 67–22 to condemn Wisconsin's U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute."
Major legislation
June 6, 1953: An Act ... relating to the apportionment of assemblymen and senators, 1953 Act 242. This was a new redistricting plan to supersede the plan they passed in 1951 utilizing the language of the constitutional amendment passed in April 1953. The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down this act, along with the related constitutional amendment, in October 1953.
1953 Joint Resolution 9: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to change the apportionment rules for legislative districts to add consideration for district size. This amendment was approved by voters at the April 1953 election, but was that referendum was later ruled invalid.
1953 Joint Resolution 12: Second legislative passage of a proposed amendment to the state constitution to change judicial terms in cases of special elections, so that special elections would now award a full term rather than the remainder of any incomplete term. This amendment was approved by voters at the April 1953 election.
