LUSSOW SAYS HE'LL RETIRE FROM BENCH

Rock County Judge John Lussow said Wednesday he decided to retire after
learning he'd have at least one challenger for his bench seat.

"After I was so sick, my family said, 'You shouldn't run again.' Now, with
the idea of having a contested campaign, they're probably right," Lussow said.

Janesville attorney Barbara McCrory announced earlier Wednesday that she is
running for Lussow's seat.

Lussow, 62, was off the bench for three months starting in April after
suffering what he said was a life-threatening internal infection that
affected his liver.

He returned to work in July, writing in a letter to Rock County attorneys:
"The purpose of this statement is to dispel rumors that I am terminally ill
or planning to retire for medical reasons. Those rumors are simply not true."

Nine days later, Lussow told the Gazette he intended to seek re-election.

But on Wednesday, Lussow said he'd been thinking for a couple of months
about not running for a fifth term. He made his final decision a week ago
after talking with several people and reviewing his financial situation,
which he said will be very comfortable.

Lussow graduated from Beloit College in 1963 and from the UW Law School in
1966. He worked as assistant director of development for estate planning at
Beloit College before joining a Beloit law firm in 1968.

Lussow ran for judge after Judge Sverre Roang announced his retirement.
Lussow won his first six-year term in 1979 with a 167-vote victory over
Janesville attorney Richard Murphy.

Lussow was uncontested in three subsequent elections.

In 25 years, he said, the volume of cases has increased along with the
number of criminal statutes.

"The Legislature has been passing criminal statutes one after another,"
Lussow said.

Changes in the law also have limited the discretion of judges when sentencing.

"That's also what's happened with the federal system, and the federal
judges are not happy at all," he said.

But the biggest change, he said, has been the huge increase in drug
prosecutions.

"I swear to God, we're not going to stop until we've given every man, woman
and child in this country a criminal record," he said. "That's how silly
it's gotten."

He pointed to the difference between Madison, where possession of a
marijuana pipe is only an ordinance violation, and Rock County, where the
same offense results in a criminal prosecution.

"They're taking all these young people and making criminals out of them,"
he said.

Lussow said that after retirement he'll consider working as a reserve judge
but noted: "There's a lot of fishing and hunting to be done."

He also plans to travel.

"I'll miss the day-to-day contact with my staff and the lawyers," he said.
"We've got a great Bar Association, and we've got great people working here."