71st Wisconsin Legislature

71st Wisconsin Legislature
← 70th 72nd →
Wisconsin State Capitol
Overview
Legislative body	Wisconsin Legislature
Meeting place	Wisconsin State Capitol
Term	January 5, 1953 – January 3, 1955
Election	November 4, 1952
Senate
Members	33
Senate President	George M. Smith (R)
President pro tempore	Frank E. Panzer (R)
Party control	Republican
Assembly
Members	100
Assembly Speaker	Ora R. Rice (R)
Party control	Republican
Sessions
Regular January 14, 1953 – November 6, 1953

The Seventy-First Wisconsin Legislature convened from January 14, 1953, to November 6, 1953, in regular session.^[1]

During this session, the Legislature attempted to pass another redistricting plan to supersede the "Rosenberry plan" that had passed during the previous session. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately struck down this second plan, finding that the state constitution did not allow for the Legislature to pass more than one redistricting plan per decennial census. The Rosenberry plan went into effect for the 1954 election.^[2] This was the first time in 60 years that the court got involved in a Wisconsin redistricting dispute, but it would be the start of a pattern of state and federal courts handling Wisconsin redistricting for subsequent decades.

Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly elected for this session and were serving the first two years of a four-year term. Assembly members were elected to a two-year term. Assembly members and even-numbered senators were elected in the general election of November 4, 1952. Senators representing odd-numbered districts were serving the third and fourth year of a four-year term, having been elected in the general election of November 7, 1950.^[1]