 2003
Supreme Court Candidates
James
Hough, The
Hamilton Consulting Group
Feb.
7, 2003
©
2003 Hough, Fassbender, Osborne & Associates
The
Third Branch - An Important Election
With all of the fanfare surrounding a new Administration, a new
Legislature with new leadership, and a huge budget deficit, there
is a tendency to overlook the extremely important election to our
state’s highest court. This year there are three candidates
vying for a spot being vacated by Justice William Bablitch who is
not seeking re-election. Justice Bablitch will have served 20
years on the Wisconsin Supreme Court when his term expires on
August 1, 2003. Those candidates seeking his seat are Ed Brunner,
Paul Higginbotham and Patience Roggensack. Information about the
three candidates is listed below along with links to their
respective web sites.
Judicial
elections in Wisconsin are “non-partisan” elections and, as
such, are held during the “Spring Election” along with other
non-partisan elections, including most local races. The 2003
Spring Primary will be held on February 18, with the General
Election scheduled for April 1. Members of the State Supreme Court
are elected for ten-year terms and no two terms can expire in the
same year. There are seven members on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
The Court is the final authority on matters pertaining to the
Wisconsin Constitution and the highest tribunal for all actions
begun in the state, except those involving federal issues
appealable to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Candidates
for the Supreme Court are somewhat restricted in how their
elections can be conducted due to the ethical constraints of not
being able to discuss the merits or demerits of specific cases or
issues that may later come before the court. Candidates can
comment on cases that have been decided, which can draw a fine
line regarding related issues that may surface later. For the most
part, supreme court candidates tout their experience, abilities
and judicial philosophy. When the terms “liberal” and
“conservative” are used in relation to court candidates, they
are not intended to connote political philosophy as much as an
approach to deciding questions of law based on the Constitution or
precedent. “Liberals” tend to view the Constitution and
precedent as “fluid’ while “conservatives” are more likely
to be considered “strict constructionists.”
The
following information is presented in an effort to provide some
basic comparative background information on the three candidates.
All candidates have listed substantial community involvement. We
have included only professionally related positions. We urge you
to check their respective websites and public statements for
additional information.
Ed
Brunner (www.brunnerforjustice.org)
- Barron
County Circuit Court Judge - 1988-present
- Chief
Judge, 10th Judicial District
- Age
54
- B.A.,
1970, Marquette University
- Juris
Doctor, 1974, University of Akron
- Previous
professional experience - County Corporation Counsel, City
Attorney, Private Law Practice
- Prominent
Support/Endorsements: Former Governor Tony Earl; U.S.
Representatives Ron Kind and Dave Obey; Former Supreme Court
Justice Don Steinmetz; Former Superintendents of Public
Instruction John Benson and Bert Grover
Paul
Higginbotham (www.higginbotham2003.org)
- Dane
County Circuit Court Judge -- 1994-present
- Madison
Municipal Judge -- 1992-94
- Age
48
- B.A.,
1981, UW-Madison
- Juris
Doctor, 1985, UW-Madison
- Previous
professional experience -- Staff Attorney for Milwaukee Fair
Housing Council and Milwaukee Legal Aid, Private Law Practice
- Prominent
Support/Endorsements: Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton; Dane
County Executive Kathleen Falk; Former Supreme Court Chief
Justice Nathan Heffernan; Madison Mayor Sue Bauman; Alliant
Energy CEO Erroll Davis
Patience
Roggensack (www.roggensack2003.com)
- Wisconsin
Court of Appeals Judge, District IV -- 1996-present
- Age
62
- B.A.,
1962, Drake University
- Juris
Doctor, 1980, UW Law School
- Previous
professional experience -- Private Law Practice
- Prominent
Support/Endorsements: H&SS Secretary and former Governor
Tommy Thompson; U.S. Representatives Mark Green, Paul Ryan and
Tom Petri and former U.S. Rep. Scott Klug; Former Supreme
Court Justices Louis Ceci and William Callow; UW President
Kathryn Lyall
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