Why the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race matters | The Wisconsin Independent
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court listens to arguments from Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Anthony D. Russomanno, representing Gov. Tony Evers, during a redistricting hearing at the state Capitol, Nov. 21, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin. (Ruthie Hauge/The Capital Times via AP, Pool, File)

Wisconsinites will head back to the ballot box on April 1 to vote for the state’s next Supreme Court justice.

Longtime Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is retiring from the court this spring, and two candidates are running to fill her spot: liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and former Republican attorney general and now Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel.

It’s a critical race that is likely to garner a lot of attention and outside funding. But why exactly is this race so important?

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin is deciding more political issues than before, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater associate professor of political science Jolly Emrey told the Wisconsin Independent. Those issues affect Wisconsinites’ daily lives, from voting rights to unions’ rights to health care access.

The outcome of the Supreme Court race will also determine whether the court leans liberal or conservative. Seven justices serve on the court, and while it’s technically nonpartisan, justices have tended to lean to one side of the political spectrum and vote accordingly. Liberals won a majority on the court for the first time in 15 years with the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz, who won a seat previously held by a conservative. There are currently four liberal justices on the court and three conservative.

Emrey said that while she understands there may be fatigue among voters in Wisconsin who are seemingly forced to pay attention to an important election every year, this is not a race voters should ignore.

“I think it’s really important that you consider, based on your own preferences, who you want to be on that court, because they will likely make decisions that do impact you at some point,” Emrey said.

Why has the court become more political?

While political parties and special interest groups have been increasingly bringing their issues and battles to the courts in recent years, Emrey said this trend dates back to the Civil Rights Era.

Because the right of many Black Americans to vote was blocked or restricted, they couldn’t create change through the election of legislators and instead went through the courts, Emrey said. The U.S. Supreme Court issued landmark rulings in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, in which it ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, or Loving v. Virginia, in which it confirmed that state laws prohibiting interracial marriage were also unconstitutional.

Over time, other groups realized they could bring issues to the court when they were unsuccessful fighting for them through Congress or their state legislature.

“So the courts really become this other political venue when you cannot get what you believe to be a fair hearing,” Emrey said.

As the country has become more divided and polarized around political issues, it has forced the courts to become more political, too, she said. Because of this, more special interest groups are pouring money into judicial campaigns, and more are willing to spend money to bring their cases before the court. There was a record amount of money spent in the 2023 Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, and Emrey said it’s predicted even more could be spent in the upcoming election.

This all can affect how the court operates, and political tensions have risen among justices. Emrey pointed to an incident in 2011 when the state Supreme Court was considering a case about collective bargaining rights, and there was a physical altercation between conservative Justice David Prosser and Bradley in her chambers, during which Prosser placed his hands on Bradley’s neck.

This political tension surrounding the court isn’t going anywhere, either, Emrey said, regardless of who wins the upcoming election.

“It’s here to stay. Especially when it’s so divisive, right? I mean, we’re talking one vote, one seat that shifts the majority or sustains the majority on the court. It’s just going to keep happening,” Emrey said.

What issues will the court decide?

While not every decision the state Supreme Court makes will affect Wisconsinites’ daily lives, many of them will, Emrey said.

An important case currently before the court is a lawsuit over abortion access in Wisconsin. It’s unclear whether the court will make a decision before the April election, but the case demonstrates the weight of the decisions justices are making, Emrey said.

The court may also hear an appeal of Act 10, a controversial law from 2011 that limited collective bargaining rights for most public workers. In December 2024, a Dane County judge overturned the law, and Republican legislative leaders have appealed that ruling. The result of the case will affect the power that unions and public workers, such as teachers, have to negotiate the terms of their employment, including salary increases.

Cases involving voting rights issues such as voter ID and mail voting, and those involving privacy, such as the regulation of social media, could end up in front of the state’s highest court as well, Emrey said.

“It’s a really important race no matter where you stand in terms of your ideological preferences, because the court is going to continue to get these kinds of questions before them that tap into voters’ ideological preferences. They’re not going away,” Emrey said. “I think that we’ll continue to see fights go on, because there are groups on both sides seeking to make some policy decisions through the courts as another venue for politics.”

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