Wisconsin Professional Police Ass'n v. Waukesha County

The question on this appeal is how to interpret sec. 59.21(8)(a), Stats. (1981-82), 1 which concerns, inter alia, the procedure for sheriff's department promotions in counties with populations of less than five hundred thousand. The trial court held that the statute unambiguously commands the sheriff to pick from a list of only three candidates. We agree and therefore reject Waukesha county's assertion that the list is made up of all persons with the top three competitive examination scores no matter how many people that may be.

The facts are uncontroverted. Both detective and juvenile officer…