Wisconsin Prepares for a Supreme Court Race

The 2012 election season may be over, but wait there’s more! In early 2013 Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack will be up for reelection for a 10-year term on the Court.

December 1st marked the day candidates could begin to circulate nomination papers for the high court. So far two people have announced they will run against Roggensack, Vince Megna, Wisconsin’s “King of Lemon Laws,”and Marquette University Law School professor Edward Fallone.

Megna, who is known for his outspoken behavior, has carried that attitude with him to the campaign trail. In a colorful interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Megna declared himself a Democrat, called Roggensack a Republican, and said he wants to ‘stop the fiction’ that court races are nonpartisan. He also indicated he would vote to strike down the voter ID law.

Fallone is taking a different approach, running on the perception that the Court as a whole is dysfunctional, rather than running against Justice Roggensack as an individual member of the Court. “The Wisconsin Supreme Court is dysfunctional and the only way to fix it is to change the personalities on the bench,” said Fallone. “I am not beholden to any political party or faction on the court or any special interest group. The people of Wisconsin expect — and deserve — judges who respect the importance of an independent judiciary and who are impartial and fair. That is the kind of Justice I will be.”

Key dates upcoming in the Supreme Court race:

  • Saturday, December 1st, 2012- First Day Candidates Can Circulate Nomination Papers
  • Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013- Nomination Papers Due (2000 signatures needed)
  • Tuesday, February 19th, 2013- Primary Election Day (Top 2 vote-getters advance)
  • Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013- General Election Day