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7th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Diane Sykes has announced her intent to take senior status later this year.
According to an announcement posted Wednesday on the U.S. Courts website, Sykes will officially move to senior status in October.
President Donald Trump will appoint Sykes’s successor.
Sykes did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Senior status means Sykes, 67, meets the age and service requirements to continue to serve, but will hear a reduced number of cases.
Prior to joining the 7th Circuit bench, Sykes served as a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. She was nominated by President George W. Bush to the 7th Circuit in 2004.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sykes graduated from Northwestern University in 1980 and was a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal before leaving journalism to become a lawyer.
She graduated from Marquette University Law School in 1984 and was a law clerk to federal District Judge Terence Evans.
Sykes worked at the Whyte & Hirschboeck law firm in Milwaukee from 1985 to 1992 and was a Milwaukee County circuit judge from 1992 until 1999. Then she was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by former Gov. Tommy Thompson. She won a 10-year term in 2000.
The Journal Sentinel reported now that Sykes is moving to senior status, Michael Brennan, also from Wisconsin, will become the next chief judge of the 7th Circuit based on seniority.
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