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Michael Gableman wins Wisconsin Supreme Court seat from Michael Butler.

By Ann Althouse

This was a fight known mainly for the nasty ads put out by groups supporting the candidates, but the bottom line is that the balance on the court has changed.

Here's a recent Wall Street Journal article that focused on the race:

After four years of judicial activism, one of the court's most liberal members, Justice Louis Butler, is up for re-election -- and voters get to send a message about what they expect from their judges....

The last time Badger State voters had a chance to vote on Justice Butler, in 2000, the then-Milwaukee County Municipal Judge lost by nearly 2-1 to then-state Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes. But when a seat opened up on the high court in 2004 with the elevation of Justice Sykes to the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle appointed Judge Butler to the slot.

Liberals suddenly enjoyed a 5-4 majority on the court, and it swung sharply to the left. The court systematically dismantled the state's tort reform laws, eliminating caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice rulings. In another case, the court made Wisconsin the only state to accept "collective liability" for manufacturers in cases involving lead paint. Whether a company actually produced the paint became irrelevant to guilt or innocence.

I didn't endorse a candidate (or vote) in this election.

Full post as published by Althouse on April 02, 2008 (boomark / email).