Fighting to Overturn the Will of Wisconsin Voters
July 6, 2010
It’s been more than two years since Wisconsin voters ousted incumbent Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler in favor of Michael Gabelman, but judicial activists in Wisconsin refuse to give up the ghost. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Court is currently deadlocked 3-3 over allegations that Gabelman “lied” in a campaign ad that highlighted Butler’s liberal record. A three-judge Judicial Conduct Panel, along with three of Gableman’s colleagues on the Supreme Court, believes the charge should be dismissed. But what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Butler, AmericanCourthouse readers will remember, was appointed to the court in “open defiance” of the wishes of Wisconsin voters, who had already rejected him once by an overwhelming 2:1 margin. Following his appointment, Butler shifted the court sharply to the left, eviscerating Wisconsin’s medical liability reforms and inventing crackpot new theories to open Wisconsin employers to more abusive litigation.
The “merit” selection crowd is already using this ongoing dispute to gin up support for its goal of abolishing democratic judicial elections in Wisconsin.