Laurence Gram 75, Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge presided over Jeffrey Dahmer's homicide trial
Hoodude
Gram spent 25 years in Circuit Court
By MEG JONES
Posted: Aug. 30, 2007
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Laurence Gram
On the eve of the most famous homicide trial in Milwaukee County
history, Laurence Gram was asked if he wanted to be known as the
Jeffrey Dahmer judge.
The unflappable Gram replied that he wanted to be remembered as fair
and hard-working. Which is how he is remembered.
Gram, 75, retired in 1999 after 25 years as a Milwaukee County Circuit
Court judge but worked as a reserve judge and was presiding over cases
in Waukesha County last week. He died of a massive stroke Wednesday at
Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
"Larry Gram was right up there with the best. He was a great guy,"
said Jerry Boyle, Dahmer's defense attorney.
Boyle, who argued numerous cases in Gram's courtroom, kidded Gram by
calling him Judge Ito "because he got more face time than Lance Ito,"
the judge who presided over O.J. Simpson's criminal trial a few years
after Gram sentenced Dahmer to 15 life terms in 1992. The serial
killer was murdered in prison two years later.
Gram's daughter, Nancy Roberts, recalls a February birthday party held
during the trial for her father, her husband, son and nephew, who all
celebrated birthdays that month.
"He got the verdict in while we were having the party and the birthday
cake. He said, 'Feed the jury well and I'll be down as soon as I can.'
He made sure he took care of his family," said Roberts. "If your job
in life is to leave the world a better place, he did his job."
Though the Dahmer case was the highest-profile trial in his career,
Gram was also known for wearing lederhosen and a Tyrolean hat; cooking
ethnic dishes such as spaetzle; presiding as president of a Bavarian
dance club; singing in Milwaukee Liedertafel, a men's choral group;
and volunteering his time to numerous professional and civic
organizations. He took a break during the three-week insanity trial of
Dahmer to cook a German meal for a group of disabled friends, an event
Gram had sponsored for years.
Born in Milwaukee, Gram attended West Allis public schools, graduated
from Northwestern Military and Naval Academy and earned degrees in
economics and law from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He went
into private practice with his father and in 1968 became chairman of
the Democratic Party in Milwaukee County.
Gov. Pat Lucey appointed him to a vacant county court bench in 1974.
He spent many years in civil court and switched to felony court in
1989. A few months before Dahmer went to trial, Gram became one of two
judges assigned to handle only homicide cases.
"He handled that thing with magnificence, from top to bottom," Boyle
said of Gram's handling of the serial killer's trial. "As difficult a
case as that was, he made it very easy for both (District Attorney)
Mike McCann and I. He had a great sense of humor. He was really a
nice, nice man."
He was preceded in death by his first wife of 44 years, Elizabeth. He
later remarried. Survivors include his wife of 11 years, Mary;
children Mary Gram, Barb Hannes, Larry Gram and Nancy Roberts; and
four stepchildren, Marcy ÖWarkaske, Karen ÖOutzen, Michael Riley and
Patricia Lonzo.
Visitation is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Church & Chapel
Funeral Home, 380 Blue Mound Road, Waukesha. Visitation will also be
held at 10 a.m. Monday until the funeral at 11 a.m. at St. Anthony on
the Lake Church, W280-N2101 Highway SS, Pewaukee.
Donations to Wisconsin Lions Club Camp are appreciated.
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