Mark McGinnis Removed

Mark McGinnis, an Outagamie County, Wisconsin Circuit Court judge, jailed cement contractor Tyler Barth in December 2021 over a private money dispute that was not a matter pending before the court, accusing Barth of theft even though Barth had never been arrested or criminally charged with anything. Because of a conflict of interest with the Outagamie County District Attorney's Office, a special prosecutor from La Crosse County was appointed in March 2024 to investigate how McGinnis had conducted the underlying hearing. In August 2025, the special prosecutor announced McGinnis would not face criminal charges — determining that a crime had not occurred — but the decision noted McGinnis himself acknowledged, in hindsight, that he could have handled the hearing differently, and the prosecutor separately cited concerns about the separation of powers in charging a judge over courtroom decisions as a factor in declining prosecution. McGinnis announced his resignation in a letter to Governor Tony Evers, effective February 1, 2026.