Hon. Maxine Aldridge White is a judge for District I of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. She was appointed to the seat by Governor Tony Evers in 2020.
Prior to her appointment, White was the Chief Judge of the First Judicial District in Milwaukee County (2015 to 2020). She was appointed a judge for the Milwaukee County Circuit Court by former Governor Tommy Thompson in 1992.
Before beginning her judicial career, White served as an Assistant United States Attorney with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (1985 to 1992). She was also a former legal advisor and instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy in Brunswick, Georgia (1991 to 1992).
White received a B.A. from Alcorn State University (1973) and an M.P.A. from the University of Southern California (1981). She went on to complete a J.D. at Marquette University Law School in 1985.
Her memberships have included the American Bar Association, the Seventh Circuit Bar Association, the State Bar of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers (past president), and the Association for Women Lawyers.
White was a past chair of the Chief Judges Committee and sat on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Presiding Judges and Chief Executive Officers. She was also a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Judicial Advisory Committee, the Wisconsin Judicial Conference Legislative Committee, and the Milwaukee Community Justice Council (past chair).
White is the recipient of the Ida B. Platt Award, the Safe & Sound Law Enforcement Leader Award, the Milwaukee County Sheriff Commendation for Leadership Award, and the Wisconsin Law Journal Leader in the Law Award. In addition, she was named Judge of the Year by the State Bar, Justinian Society Jurist of the Year, and Marquette University Alumna of the Year.
White has also been involved with the Heritage Chorale of Milwaukee (board member); the Milwaukee Chapter of Links, Inc. (past president); and the House of Peace, Inc. Advisory Board (past president).
She was born in Mississippi, where her mother and father worked as cotton sharecroppers. In her free time, White enjoys travel, music, reading, and spending time with family.