Robert Watson Landry

Robert Watson Landry was an American lawyer, judge, and Democratic politician. He served two terms in the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the east side of the city of Milwaukee and went on to serve 35 years as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.

Biography

Landry was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended school in Atwater, Wisconsin, and Shorewood, Wisconsin, before graduating from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin Law School. During World War II, Landry served in the United States Navy. He died on November 13, 2017, at the age of 95.

Political career

Landry was elected on the Democratic ticket to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1950, representing Milwaukee County's 1st Assembly district. He was re-elected in 1952.
During his second term in the Assembly, he ran for and won election to a judgeship on the Milwaukee Civil Court. He served in that role until he was appointed to the Wisconsin circuit court judgeship in November 1959, to replace Francis X. Swietlik, who had resigned. He subsequently served 35 years as a circuit court judge. In 1977 he ran for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but was defeated by William G. Callow.