From 1985 to 1986, Higginbotham was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was later a member of the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Law School. From 1992 to 1993, he served as City of Madison, Wisconsin Municipal Judge. He was the a Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge from 1994 until joining the Court of Appeals in 2003.[2] That year he ran for election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but was defeated in the February primary election with the seat ultimately going to Patience D. Roggensack. Judge Roggensack's elevation created a vacancy on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, and Governor Jim Doyle appointed Judge Higginbotham to the empty seat. Judge Higginbotham won re-election without opposition in 2005 and 2011. In May 2016, Higginbotham announced that he would not seek re-election to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the 2017 Wisconsin Spring Election.[3][4]
Redistricting commission
After a 2011 redistricting law, passed by a partisan Republican legislature and signed by a Republican governor, Wisconsin became one of the worst gerrymandered states in the country.[5][6] In July 2020, Wisconsin GovernorTony Evers announced the creation of a redistricting commission in an effort to create a nonpartisan alternative to the contentious process that had resulted in years of legal challenges and disputes. Evers appointed Judge Higginbotham, along with retired judges Janine P. Geske and Joseph Troy, as a panel to select the members of the proposed redistricting commission.[7]
Electoral history
Wisconsin Circuit Court (1994, 2000)
Wisconsin Circuit Court, Dane Circuit, Branch 17 Election, 1994[8]
^Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". In Barish, Lawrence S. (ed.). State of Wisconsin 1995-1996 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 880. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
^Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". In Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2001-2002 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 902. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
^Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections in Wisconsin". State of Wisconsin 2003-2004 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 891. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
^Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections"(PDF). State of Wisconsin 2005-2006 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 895. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
^Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. "Elections"(PDF). State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 877. Retrieved February 24, 2020.