--- title: "Stephen L. Crocker | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-08" --- # Stephen L. Crocker U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin · U.S. Magistrate Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin - State: Wisconsin - Role: U.S. Magistrate Judge - Service status: former - Last verified: 2026-07-29 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Magistrate Judge Stephen L. Crocker retired from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin in early 2024 after 32 years of service. - Crocker held the role of the only full-time magistrate judge in the Western District of Wisconsin, appointed in 1992 at age 33 by then-district judges Barbara B. Crabb and John C. Shabaz - Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office - Northern District of Illinois, 1986–1990 - Trial Attorney, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1984–1986 - Law Clerk, U.S. District Court - Western District of Wisconsin, 1983–1984 - His legal career began in 1983 as a law clerk for Judge Crabb, followed by a role in the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division Honors Program in Washington, D.C ### Education - A Madison native, Crocker graduated from West High School, Wesleyan University, and Northwestern University School of Law. ### Additional information - Magistrate, District Court, W.D. Wisconsin, 1992-present - In June 2023, Crocker announced his retirement effective early 2024. - Practitioner, Michael, Best & Friedrich LLP, 1990–1992 - J.D. — Northwestern Univ. — 1983 - Chief Judge Peterson praised him for “impeccable integrity, extraordinary diligence, and a unique sense of humor” and described him as “quite literally irreplaceable”. - Reappointed three times, most recently by Judges James D. Peterson and William M. Conley. - B.A. — Wesleyan Univ. - He later held the role of an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago, prosecuting public corruption and drug trafficking cases, before a brief private practice stint in Madison. - As magistrate judge, he was the court’s primary handler of federal criminal pretrial matters — including search and arrest warrants, detention hearings, and suppression motions — and also presided over some civil jury trials and managed other judges’ civil and prisoner lawsuits. - Active in legal education and community service, lecturing on federal procedure, serving as a Red Cross CPR and Wilderness First Aid Instructor, volunteering at the Henry Vilas Zoo, coaching in the Wisconsin Bar Association’s mock trial program, and more. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=72) - [Official roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=72) - [U.S. Courts judicial profile or roster](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=72) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9645/stephen-l-crocker/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9645/stephen-l-crocker/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Stephen L. Crocker](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) - [Applications Sought for Magistrate Judge](https://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/Magistrate%20Judge%20Annoucement%206.20.2023.pdf) - [Anita M. Boor Appointed as New United States Magistrate Judge](https://www.wiwd.uscourts.gov/news/anita-m-boor-appointed-new-united-states-magistrate-judge) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9645/stephen-l-crocker/) - [BR/MAG Judge Database: Stephen L. Crocker](https://legaldatalab.law.virginia.edu/brmag-judges/brmag-judges.json) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate", "name": "Stephen L. Crocker | KnowJudges", "description": "Stephen L. Crocker, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-08", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate#judge", "name": "Stephen L. Crocker", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate", "jobTitle": "U.S. Magistrate Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/cjra_na_0331.2026.pdf#page=72", "https://www.courtlistener.com/person/9645/stephen-l-crocker/" ], "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Northwestern Univ." }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Wesleyan Univ." } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Wisconsin", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/wisconsin" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Stephen L. Crocker", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/stephen-l-crocker-wisconsin-us-magistrate" } ] } ] } ```