WISCONSIN RAPIDS − Emily Nolan-Plutchak has been appointed as the next Wood County Branch 3 Circuit Court judge. Gov. Tony Evers made the announcement July 9.
Nolan-Plutchak will fill the rest of Wood County Circuit Judge Todd Wolf’s term. Wolf announced his planned retirement in May. Wolf’s last day is July 11. His term ends July 31, 2026.
“Emily Nolan-Plutchak brings integrity, dedication to her community, and a commitment to improving the criminal justice system to the bench,” Evers said in a news release. “With nearly two decades of experience working in Wood County and the surrounding area, she has shown her commitment to the community and will be an excellent judge for the folks of Wood County.”
Nolan-Plutchak began her career as a public defender in Missouri. After practicing for a year, she moved to central Wisconsin in 2007, according to the release. Since then, she has been a public defender in Wood, Adams and Portage counties. She currently is the local attorney manager in the Wisconsin Rapids office of the Wisconsin State Public Defender.
As an assistant state public defender, she has represented indigent clients in misdemeanor, felony, revocation and juvenile cases, according to the release. As the local attorney manager, she manages the public defender caseload in Wood and Adams counties, including private bar appointments.
Nolan-Plutchak has been a team member on the Wood County Adult Drug Treatment Court since 2007, according to the release. Additionally, she has been active on the local, state and national levels in developing and defining best practices for drug treatment courts.
Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker said Nolan-Plutchak has done an excellent job of creating collaborative working relationships to find common ground and to focus on what makes communities safer.
“She has earned my trust because of her integrity, her legal ability, her deep involvement in Wood County, and the fact that she is an honest, straightforward individual who treats everyone respectfully,” Becker said in the news release.
Nolan-Plutchak graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marquette University Law School. She has been active in numerous community and professional organizations, including serving as a board member for Three Bridges Recovery and as a former president of the Wisconsin Association of Treatment Court Professionals.
Nolan-Plutchak will be the first woman to serve as circuit court judge in Wood County, according to the news release.
“It is an honor to serve the people of Wood County as a judge,” said Nolan-Plutchak in the release. “I thank Governor Evers for his trust and confidence. My commitment to the residents of this beautiful county is straightforward. I will make decisions based on the facts and the law.”
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: Public Defender Emily Nolan-Plutchak named new Wood County Circuit Court judge
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune / Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
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