| Honorific-Prefix: | The Honorable |
| Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. | |
| Office: | Judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I |
| Term Start: | August 1, 1992 |
| Term End: | July 23, 2008 |
| Predecessor: | Position established |
| Successor: | Kitty K. Brennan |
| Term Start1: | August 1, 1982 |
| Term End1: | July 31, 1988 |
| Predecessor1: | Rudolph T. Randa |
| Successor1: | Ralph Adam Fine |
| Office2: | Judge |
| Appointer2: | Tommy Thompson |
| Term Start2: | August 1, 1988 |
| Term End2: | July 31, 1992 |
| Predecessor2: | Ralph Adam Fine |
| Successor2: | Jacqueline D. Schellinger |
| Office3: | Judge |
| Term Start3: | August 1, 1978 |
| Term End3: | July 31, 1982 |
| Predecessor3: | Position established |
| Successor3: | Rudolph T. Randa |
| Office4: | Judge |
| Appointer4: | Martin J. Schreiber |
| Term Start4: | August 1977 |
| Term End4: | July 31, 1978 |
| Predecessor4: | Harvey L. Neelen |
| Successor4: | Position abolished |
| Birth Date: | 30 August 1932 |
| Birth Place: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |
| Death Place: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US |
| Restingplace: | Holy Trinity Cemetery Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Father: | Theodore E. Wedemeyer |
| Mother: | Catharine Wedemeyer |
| Alma Mater: | Marquette University Law School |
| Profession: | lawyer, judge |
Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. (August 30, 1932July 23, 2008) was an American lawyer and a judge of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. Wedemeyer served twice on the court's Milwaukee-based District I; he was the district's presiding judge from 1983 to 1985 and from 1992 until 2007.
Wedemeyer's father, Ted Sr., was an attorney and politician who served as a Milwaukee alderman, as a civil court judge, and as a Milwaukee County supervisor.[1] Wedemeyer Jr. graduated from Marquette University Law School and worked as a private practice attorney in Milwaukee from 1957 to 1974.[2] [3] Wedemeyer was active in Democratic politics; he served on the executive board of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party and chaired Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier's campaign committee.[4] [5] In the early 1970s, Wedemeyer was appointed by Maier to chair the Milwaukee Board of Zoning Appeals.[4]
In 1974, Wedemeyer assisted in the development and organization of the Milwaukee Municipal Court, a limited-jurisdiction court hearing city ordinance violations. In November 1974, Maier appointed Wedemeyer as one of the court's first two judges.[4] He served as a municipal judge until 1977, when he was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court by Acting Governor Marty Schreiber.[2] In 1982, he challenged Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Rudolph T. Randa for his seat on the court's Milwaukee-based District I.[6] Wedemeyer unseated Randa in the April general election;[6] from 1983 to 1985, he served as District I's presiding judge.[2]
In the leadup to the 1988 Milwaukee mayoral election, Wedemeyer was suggested as a possible successor to the retiring Maier, but ultimately did not run.[7] Instead, he was challenged for reelection to the Court of Appeals by Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Ralph Adam Fine, who touted his opposition to plea bargaining and defeated Wedemeyer after a contentious campaign.[8] Governor Tommy Thompson, a Republican, appointed Wedemeyer to replace Fine on the circuit court.[9]
In 1992, Wedemeyer was returned to the Court of Appeals; he was elected without opposition to a newly created seat in District I.[10] He became the district's presiding judge in the same year, occupying that office until 2007.[2] He sought election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1995 and received support from the Milwaukee press,[11] but failed to survive the February primary election.[12]
Wedemeyer was noted for his involvement in community service activities. Active in promoting soccer in Wisconsin through the Milwaukee Kickers organization,[13] he was inducted into the Wisconsin Soccer Association Hall of Fame in 1992.[14]
Wedemeyer died of lung cancer, while still in office, on July 23, 2008.
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 4, 1978
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 6, 1982| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 5, 1988| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 7, 1992
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Primary Election, February 21, 1995| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 4, 1995
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 1, 1997| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 1, 2003