Judge Barry Found Dead; Apparent Suicide

Racine County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Barry has been found dead in a City of Racine Park. 

Barry was deputy chief district judge for the judicial district that includes Racine County. 

Racine County Medical Examiner Tom Terry told Patch Barry is believed to have committed suicide. WTMJ is also reporting Barry's death an apparent suicide.

A press release from the Racine Police Department states foul play is not suspected in Barry's death. 

The press release goes on to say officers found Barry's body in Lincoln Park about 8:45 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, following a missing person report made at 7 a.m. that day. 

By 11:40 a.m., police were no longer at Lincoln Park.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard released the following statement, after learning of Barry's death. Wanggaard is a former law enforcement officer, and worked with Barry when the judge sat on the criminal bench.

"You could not find a man with greater integrity than Judge Dennis Barry. I knew Judge Barryfor over forty years - he handled my first criminal case, and he swore me into the State Senate earlier this year. Judge Barry was a courageous fighter for the city and county of Racine, and the entire State of Wisconsin. I will miss him as a personal friend, and Racine will miss him as the asset to community he strove to be. My prayers are with his wife Joan, his children, and his entire family."

County Executive Jim Ladwig gave the following statement:

"He was a great judge and his death is a real loss to the Racine community. Judge Barry was one of the good guys and this is just such a shock."

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Tim Zarzecki said:

"Judge Barry will be missed by the entire law enforcement community. I have known him to be a rock for law enforcement and he was pivotal in the juvenile justice system."

Caledonia Police Chief, Toby Schey, said Barry's death was a loss to the community.

Read The Journal Times' story on Barry's death here.

The Journal Times reported Barry was appointed to the bench in 1980 by then-Gov. Lee Dreyfus. He served as Racine County District Attorney prior to his appointment as judge. 

Former Journal Times reporter Wendy Parks profiled Barry 11 years ago, noting his penchant for truth-seeking, even as a judge. It was common for the judge to pick up the phone while in session and make a call to check out someone's story—whether that was a student's attendance record or someone's excuse for missing court. 

Barry was an influential judge in his three decades on the bench. He helped write the state's Juvenile Justice Code in the mid-1990s, a change which allowed younger children to be charged as adults for serious crimes. A high-profile Racine case involving an 11-year-old gunman helped propel the issue forward. 

The State Bar of Wisconsin named Barry as judge of the year in 1997 . A spokeswoman for the association told The Journal Times Barry had "demonstrated professional excellence, high ideals, personal character and a willingness to advance the quality of justice by the creation or implementation of innovative programs."

The Racine County Bar Association expressed confidence in his judicial ability in an anonymous survey conducted in 2006, The Journal Times reported. Barry earned a 4.0 out of 5 possible points in a question asking lawyers to rate judges' overall abilities.