Wisconsin Spring Primary 2020: 3 Running For Supreme Court Seat

MILWAUKEE, WI — Wisconsin's spring 2020 spring primary will be held Tuesday, Feb. 18. Voters in Wisconsin will have their chance to narrow the field of three Wisconsin Supreme Court justice candidates from three to two in advance of the April 7 general election.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly is looking to retain his seat on the state's highest court, and faces two challengers this spring during the Feb. 18 primary. Kelly was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by former Gov. Scott Walker to fill the remainder of Justice David Prosser's term after his retirement.

He, along with Ed Fallone, a Law Professor at Marquette University Law School and longtime circuit court judge and lawyer, Jill Karofsky, will seek to advance to the general election.

According to Ballotpedia, "all three candidates say they are running to counter politicization on the court. Kelly says judges should decide cases based on their interpretation of the law rather than their political preferences."

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has seven justices, and conservatives have a 5-2 advantage in the court. That balance gives conservative lawmakers and thinkers alike an advantage over key issues, such as redistricting, Act 10, school choice, gun safety, and many others. A win for Kelly guarantees that the court will continue it's 5-2 conservative lean, while a win for either Fallone or Karofsky likely means that balance shifts to 4-3 in favor of conservatively-leaning justices. Justices serve 10-year terms on the court.

Candidates At A Glance

• Daniel Kelly (i), Middleton
• Edward A. Fallone, Milwaukee
• Jill Karofsky, Madison

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2020 Spring Election: Dates To Know

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Wisconsin Patch asked Kelly, Fallone and Karofsky to summarize their key issues heading into the Feb. 18 primary election. Here is what each said.

Edward A. Fallone

I am running because the Justices serving on our Wisconsin Supreme Court reflect too narrow a set of legal experiences and too narrow a set of life experiences to truly represent all the people of Wisconsin. With the retirement of Justice Shirley Abrahamson, the Court lost the perspective of a law professor who was a strong advocate for holding the political branches of our government accountable to the voters. In the ten years since Justice Louis Butler left the bench, the Court has lacked a member who has substantial experience as a criminal defense attorney. Significantly, the Court currently does not any member who has focused on serving persons of modest means – such as working families and immigrants. And there are currently no racial or ethnic minorities represented on our Court.

A Court that openly engages in partisan political infighting is not serving the people of Wisconsin. We need to return to an independent Court, and we need our elections to focus on the qualifications of the candidates and not attack ads. And we won't make the Supreme Court better by electing more Justices with the same narrow experience – trial judges who are former prosecutors. The work of the Wisconsin Supreme Court extends far beyond the criminal law.
Every term, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decides important cases involving our constitutional rights, the protection of the environment, the civil rights of racial and ethnic minorities, business law, and contract interpretation. The Court works better when it has a variety of types of Justices who bring experiences across a wider cross-section of legal practice. As a Constitutional Law professor, an experienced criminal defense lawyer, someone who has represented giant Fortune 100 corporations as well as the owners of small family businesses, and a community leader who has helped working families and immigrants navigate our legal system, I will bring a broad base of knowledge to our state's highest court. In addition, I will be the first Latino Justice in our State's history. And I pledge to continue my fight to end the politicization of the Court and restore its former independence.

Jill Karofsky

We have to root out the appearance of corruption that surrounds our Supreme Court. Wisconsinites have to trust that their judges are going to follow the rule of law and not bend to the whims of their campaign donors. I intend to lead by example, and return honor and dignity to the court.

Unfortunately, the courts have become wildly politicized, to our detriment. We need judges and justices who will uphold the rule of law and treat every litigant fairly and honestly, applying the constitution and statutes to today's world. I will not concern myself with what partisan right-wing special interests and politicians would like the outcome of cases to be.

Daniel Kelly

I think the most important issue in the campaign relates to the proper understanding of the role of the Supreme Court and the justices who serve the people of Wisconsin. As I have said frequently when discussing the Court's role with my fellow Wisconsinites, I believe the job of a justice is to decide cases based on the law, not on what the justices might wish the law to be. We do not make the law, ignore the law, or play favorites with the law. And so we treat all litigants who come to court with respect and fairness as we thoughtfully and carefully decide their cases based only on the law.

Related to that issue is the proper understanding and application of the Constitutions of the United States and of Wisconsin, as well as statutory material. I understand that they must be construed according to their text, giving meaning to each word and phrase as they would have been understood at the time each provision was adopted. Judges should not go out of their way to give an overly narrow application to a provision guaranteeing rights, for instance, nor should they import their view of contemporary values into a legal text.

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