Litigation

Abrahamson Wins Reelection in Wisconsin

By Charlie Hall

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who had decisively beaten challenger Randy Koschnick in the fundraising battle, was comfortably reelected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court yesterday. For stories on the election, click here and here.

Abrahamson received about 60 percent of the vote. Although the election was more civil than two bruising elections in 2007 and 2008, and many special interest groups declined to mount third-party campaigns, Abrahamson appears likely to set a fundraising record. Citing that fact, Justice at Stake issued a press release calling for election reforms in the state.

As JAS Executive Direct Bert Brandenburg noted:

Wisconsin?s leaders need to step up, so that judges don?t spend their time dialing for dollars from special interests and the parties who appear before them in court.

Legislators are considering public financing of Supreme Court elections, as well as rules that would force independent campaigns, which have played a central role in recent Wisconsin court elections,  to reveal their funding sources. The state Supreme Court also has been urged to toughen its recusal rules to avoid any appearance of favoritism toward campaign contributors.

To read more about the Wisconsin race, see these Gavel Grab postings.

Full post as published by The Gavel on April 08, 2009 (boomark / email).