Litigation

Wisconsin Journal Calls for Judicial Appointments

By Charlie Hall

On a day when Wisconsin legislators are considering bills to publicly finance appellate court elections, and to require all sponsors of election-related communications to reveal their financial sources, the Wisconsin State Journal has called for merit selection of judges, saying that modern-day judicial elections have created irreconcilable conflicts.

The editorial, “Impartial Justice? More Doubts About the Wisconsin Supreme Court,”  notes a move to force Justice Michael Gableman, left, to step aside from a case involving a criminal defendant, who argues that Gableman’s statements on the campaign trail show a prejudiced refusal to consider “loopholes” that might free a suspect.

It also notes the growing role of special-interest spending in state Supreme Court elections:

When justices are elected after big-money campaigns in which partisan sides back candidates partial to their politics, the system of checks and balances is jeopardized.

And so is our trust in the court’s fairness.

To see the entire editorial, click here. To learn more about the legislative hearing on campaign finance laws, see this release by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a Justice at Stake partner.

Full post as published by The Gavel on May 27, 2009 (boomark / email).