Story here. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, one of the court’s liberal minority, is up for re-election and being challenged by conservative Judge James Daley. It’s technically a nonpartisan election, only, it isn’t.
There’s also an initiative to change the way the Chief Justice is chosen – at present it’s the longest-serving justice of the court; the change would make the CJ elected by the justices.
John Nichols in The Nation writes that Gov. Scott Walker is here going for total control of all three branches of state government.
Frankly, I question the wisdom of electing judges at all. How many countries do that?
Perhaps you would prefer if Scott Walker appoints them instead.
Cripes, are they still trying this one? How many times do those clowns in the WI Democratic party have to be told - there is no evidence, there is no basis in law, this whole thing is a partisan witch hunt and those asses should shut up and accept that they lost the elections.
Well, the unionistas finally took one, Bradley won. However, voters approved changes to the constitution in how the Chief Justice is appointed therefore, with conservatives still holding the majority current Chief Justice Abrahamson will loose her position.
This whole Jon Doe thing has solidified in my mind that the Democratic party is a Communist party. What a bunch of jackbooted thugs. They even have a political prisoner now - Kelly Rindfleisch. She is serving a six month sentence for the minuscule violation of sending out an email before she walked out of her office - the political equivalent of jaywalking. She was subjected to overly broad searches in violation of her 4th amendment rights, shaken down and now imprisioned, because the Jon Doe prosecutors like John Chilsholm, a commie, don’t like Scott Walker.
Fuck John Chisholm. I hope James O’Keffe sues him for every penny after the conservative Supreme court lead by conservative Chief Justice Prosser puts an end to this thuggery. I hope Chisholm winds up homeless.
Not if the old bag wins her suit claiming the constitution is unconstitutional! :rolleyes:
Daley was a crappy candidate and ran a crappy campaign ontop of it. As far as the change to the constitution, Wisconsin was one of only like half a dozen states to select it’s Chief Justice by seniority. How ridiculous.
Abrahamson is demonstrating that she’d be more comfortable as the communist dictator of a banana republic. If she doesn’t step down I’ll be petitioning for her recall. Left-wing fascists have no place here.
Until judges recognize their proper role as custodians of the law and stop acting as super legislators imposing their own value judgments on political issues, we can expect this sort of thing to continue in Wisconsin and every other state.
Hell, the U.S. Supreme Court nominations were ho-hum affairs until judicial activism started.
I can’t get too worked up over the idea of the Chief Justice being elected by his or her fellow justices rather than the title being given automatically to the senior justice. Sure the current make-up of the court means conservatives support the idea and liberals oppose it. But we all know the positions would be reversed if the current balance on the court went the other way.
So moving beyond ideological interests, I can’t see any reason why seniority should be the best standard for deciding who’s the Chief. Letting the justices choose their own Chief seems more likely to produce the most qualified Chief. And if it does turn out to be just an exercise in which party holds the majority, then I think the court will at least function better with a Chief who is part of the majority rather than one who is divided from the majority.