Martha Bablitch

Martha Bablitch
Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for the 4th district
In office
August 1, 1978 – March 1985
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byWilliam Eich
Personal details
Born
Martha Jean Virtue

(1944-10-28)October 28, 1944
Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.
DiedApril 4, 2007(2007-04-04) (aged 62)
Waunakee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1968; div. 1978)​
Children1
ProfessionLawyer

Martha Bablitch (born Martha Jean Virtue; October 28, 1944 – April 4, 2007) was an American lawyer from Dane County, Wisconsin. She served seven years as a judge on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, from 1978 to 1985. She was married to Wisconsin Supreme Court justice William A. Bablitch.

Biography

Martha Jean Virtue was born on October 28, 1944, in Lawrence, Kansas, to John and Maxine (née Boord) Virtue.[1] Martha grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where her mother was a lawyer and her father an English professor at Eastern Michigan University.[2] She moved to Wisconsin to attend Lawrence University and later graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Career

Bablitch practiced private law with the firm Bablitch & Bablitch in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. In the 1970s she was a board member for the Wisconsin state Council on Criminal Justice.[3] She was elected to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals for district 4 when it was created in 1978 and re-elected in 1982. She resigned from the court in 1985 after a public battle with depression and alcoholism.[4]

Personal life and death

Martha Jean Virtue took the name Bablitch when she married William A. Bablitch, in 1968. They met while they were both students at the University of Wisconsin Law School.[5] William Bablitch went on to become a member of the Wisconsin Senate and a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. They had one daughter together before divorcing in 1978.[6] They divorced in 1978.

After her retirement, Bablitch devoted her time to the alcohol recovery community in Madison, focusing on other women and lawyers working towards recovery. In April 1986, Bablitch was interviewed in Milwaukee Magazine where she discussed her struggles with depression and alcoholism.[7] On March 17, 2004, her portrait was exhibited along with 14 other Wisconsin women jurists in a celebration of the history of Wisconsin's judicial system.[8]

She died from lung cancer on April 4, 2007, at her home in Waunakee, Wisconsin.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Martha Bablitch". Wisconsin Court System. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
  2. ^ "John B. Virtue papers 010.JV". caine.emich.edu. Retrieved 2020-10-15.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ "Criminal Justice Improvement Plan Summary" (PDF). Wisconsin Council on Criminal Justice. March 1976.
  4. ^ Zweifel, Dave (February 25, 1985). "Bablitch makes a wise judgment". The Capital Times. p. 2. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Mr. Bablitch Claims Bride in Michigan". Stevens Point Journal. February 8, 1968. p. 10. Retrieved October 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Martha Bablitch obituary". The Portage County Gazette. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  7. ^ Vukelich, George (April 1986). "The Search for Normal". Milwaukee Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Baldwin, Tammy (March 2, 2004). "Remarks: Celebrating Wisconsin's Legal History Hon Tammy Baldwin". Vote Smart. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  9. ^ Wineke, William (April 6, 2007). "Martha Bablitch, former judge, dies". Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin). Retrieved 14 October 2020.