COVERAGE OF THE STATE SUPREME
COURT RACE.
IN TONIGHT'S CLOSER LOOK, WE
CONTINUE OUR INTERVIEWS WITH THE
CANDIDATES RUNNING IN THE
FEBRUARY 18 PRIMARY RACE FOR THE
HIGH COURT.
LAST WEEK, WE SPOKE WITH
INCUMBENT JUSTICE DANIEL KELLY.
NEXT WEEK JILL KAROFSKY WILL BE
HERE.
TONIGHT, A CONVERSATION WITH ED
FALLONE WHO BEGAN HIS CAREER IN
PRIVATE LAW PRACTICE IN
WASHINGTON D.C.
HE'S BEEN ON THE FACULTY OF THE
MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL
FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS.
ED FALLONE JOINS US TONIGHT FROM
MILWAUKEE AND THANKS VERY MUCH
FOR BEING HERE.
>> PLEASURE TO BE HERE,
FREDERICA.
>> WELL, WHY ARE YOU RUNNING FOR
THE STATE SUPREME COURT?
>> OH, WELL, I TELL YOU, YOU
MENTION I RAN FOR THE COURT IN
2013.
AT THAT TIME I WAS TALKING ABOUT
THE DYSFUNCTION IN THE COURT,
THE FACT THAT WE HAD ONE JUSTICE
PHYSICALLY ASSAULT ANOTHER
JUSTICE, AND I SAID IT WAS TIME
TO END THE DYSFUNCTION AND GET
THE COURT WORKING TOGETHER.
AND AS I'VE WATCHED SINCE THEN,
AS WE GET TO NOW 2020, IF
ANYTHING, THE COURT IS MORE
DIVIDED.
IT SEEMS THEY DON'T TALK TO EACH
OTHER.
AND I THINK WE MORE THAN EVER
NEED TO REFORM THE COURT AND
MAKE A CHANGE.
>> HOW DO YOU REFORM THE COURT
TO FIX WHAT YOU DESCRIBED THEN
AND SAY PERSISTS AS DYSFUNCTION?
>> WELL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT
TO RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEED A
WIDER DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE
AND A WIDER DIVERSITY OF LEGAL
PERSPECTIVES ON THE COURT.
IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE THE WORK
OF THE COURT AND MAKE IT BETTER,
YOU BRING MORE VIEWPOINTS, MORE
PERSPECTIVE.
AND SO WHAT I BRING IS A
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR,
SOMEONE WHO'S AN EXPERIENCED
CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER AND
SOMEONE WHO'S WORKED AS A
COMMUNITY ADVOCATE IN
COMMUNITY-BASED GROUPS PROVIDING
LAWYERS TO WORKING FAMILIES AND
TRY AND GET MORE PERSPECTIVE SO
WE CAN GET THE COMMUNICATION
GOING AND BUILD CONSENSUS.
JUST ELECTING MORE OF THE SAME
JUDGES WITH NARROW PERSPECTIVES
IS NOT GOING TO CHANGE OUR
SYSTEM.
>> YOU ALSO SAID SEVEN YEARS
THAT IT IS A MISTAKE TO INJECT
POLITICS INTO JUDICIAL RACES AND
YET TODAY THE IDEA THAT SUPREME
COURT ELECTIONS ARE NONPARTISAN
IS LARGELY IN NAME ONLY.
YOU ARE ENDORSED BY THE
MILWAUKEE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
WHY SHOULDN'T CITIZENS BELIEVE
THAT RESULTS IN PARTISAN,
FOREGONE DECISIONS?
>> WELL, FIRST LET ME CORRECT
YOU.
I DON'T BELIEVE I'VE BEEN
ENDORSED BY THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
IF IT HAPPENED, IT WAS NEWS TO
ME.
I AM RUNNING A NONPARTISAN
CAMPAIGN.
IN FACT, I'M THE ONLY CANDIDATE
WHO'S TRYING TO KEEP POLITICS
OUT OF THIS RACE.
WE HAVE OUR INCUMBENT, DANIEL
KELLY, WHO YOU INTERVIEWED LAST
WEEK.
HE'S LOCATED HIS CAMPAIGN
HEADQUARTERS IN THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY HEADQUARTERS.
HE'S AN EMBRACED HIS POLITICAL
AFFILIATION.
ON THE OTHER HAND,
WE SEE PARTISAN ATTACKS BEING
MADE BY OTHER CANDIDATES THAT
REALLY POISON THE WATERS AND
PREVENT ANY SORT OF COOPERATION
OR CONSENSUS-BUILDING.
MY CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN TO MAKE AN
AFFIRMATIVE CASE FOR MY
EXPERIENCE AS A LAW PROFESSOR,
MY EXPERIENCE STANDING SHOULDER
TO SHOULDER WITH WORKING
FAMILIES WHO HAVE LEGAL PROBLEMS
AND TRYING TO HELP THEM GET
LEGAL REPRESENTATION.
AND MY EXPERIENCE IN THE LATINO
COMMUNITY.
I WOULD BE THE FIRST LATINO
JUSTICE ON OUR STATE SUPREME
COURT.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES
OF OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN
THE STATE AND HAVE BEEN WORKING
FOR OVER 25 YEARS TO TRY AND
HELP AND GIVE BACK TO THAT
COMMUNITY.
SO I'M MAKING AN AFFIRMATIVE
CASE BASED ON MY QUALIFICATIONS.
I AM NOT ENGAGING IN PARTISAN
ATTACKS.
>> DO YOU FEEL AS THOUGH
RECENT DECISIONS FROM OUR HIGH
COURT HAVE BEEN POLITICAL?
>> OH, I THINK SO.
I THINK WE SEE SOME VERY
TROUBLING TRENDS.
WE'VE SEEN OPINIONS IN THE LAST
FEW YEARS WHERE CERTAIN JUSTICES
ON THE COURT MAKE NOTICE OF THE
POLITICAL AFFILIATION OF THE
PARTIES IN THE CASE, WHICH IS
NEVER RELEVANT TO DECIDING A
LEGAL QUESTION.
AND WE SEE INSTANCES WHERE THE
COURTS -- THE JUSTICES SOMETIMES
DON'T EVEN SEEM TO TALK TO EACH
OTHER.
ONE BLOCK IS TALKING TO ITSELF,
WRITING ITS OWN OPINION.
THE OTHER BLOCK IS DISSENTING.
AND I DON'T SEE ANY EFFORT, ANY
EFFORT REALLY TO REACH ACROSS
THE DIVIDE AND TRY AND FIND
CONSENSUS IN THE MIDDLE.
AND THAT'S WHAT I FIND
TROUBLING.
BECAUSE THE COURT BELONGS TO ALL
OF US IN WISCONSIN.
IT WORKS FOR ALL OF US.
AND IT'S SELF-INDULGENT FOR THE
JUSTICES TO JUST VIEW IT AS
THEIR OWN PARTISAN FIGHT TO
EXPRESS THEIR OWN PARTISAN
VIEWS.
>> WHAT'S YOUR POSITION ON
WHETHER RECUSAL RULES SHOULD BE
TIGHTER?
>> WELL, THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE
BEEN VERY CONSISTENT ON.
WHEN I RAN IN 2013, IT WAS ONE
OF MY MAJOR CAMPAIGN PLATFORMS
AND IT CONTINUES TO BE.
IT'S JUST THIS SIMPLE.
WE HAVE A CURRENT COURT RULE
THAT ALLOWS JUSTICES TO SIT ON
CASES AND DECIDE CASES WHEN A
MAJOR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTOR IS
ONE OF THE PARTIES IN THE CASE.
AND THAT'S JUST WRONG, BECAUSE
IF SOMEONE LOSES IN A LAWSUIT AT
OUR STATE SUPREME COURT OR
ANYWHERE AND THEY WALK AWAY FROM
THE COURTROOM WITHOUT KNOWING
WHETHER THEY LOST ON THE MERITS
OR THEY LOST BECAUSE THEIR
OPPONENT HAD MADE SIGNIFICANT
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE
JUDGE, THAT UNDERMINES OUR
SYSTEM OF JUSTICE.
WE NEED TO CHANGE THAT RULE AND
THAT'S SOMETHING I'VE
CONSISTENTLY ARGUED FOR AS A
CANNED EIGHT AND EVEN IN WORKING
WITH COMMON CAUSE WISCONSIN AND
OTHER GROUPS ADVOCATING FOR
CHANGE SINCE THEN.
>> DANIEL KELLY SAYS HE ONLY
APPLIES THE LAW IN CASES AND
DOESN'T, QUOTE, LEGISLATE FROM
THE BENCH.
HOW WOULD YOU VIEW YOUR ROLE AS
A JUSTICE?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL, OULD
COMPLETELY TAKE ISSUE WITH
JUSTICE KELLY'S SELF-SERVING
DESCRIPTION OF WHAT HE DOES.
IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT HE HAS AN
AGENDA ON THE BENCH.
THIS IS SOMEONE WHO ATTENDED THE
CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK
UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, A LAW
SCHOOL THAT WAS FOUNDED WITH THE
PURPOSE OF ADVOCATING A BIBLICAL
INTERPRETATION OF OUR
CONSTITUTION.
IT'S SOMEONE WHO REPRESENTED
REPUBLICAN OFFICE HOLDERS AND
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IN HIS
LEGAL PRACTICE.
HE'S SOMEONE WHO HIS WHOLE LEGAL
CAREER HAS ADVOCATED FOR AN
AGENDA.
SO IF THERE IS SUCH A THING AS
AN ACTIVIST ON THE RIGHT,
CERTAINLY JUSTICE KELLY FITS
THAT DEFINITION.
I HAVE BEEN PRINCIPLED.
I HAVE STOOD FOR THINGS LIKE
RIGHTING FOR EQUAL PROTECTION
UNDER THE LAW, FIGHTING FOR FREE
SPEECH UNDER THE LAW.
BUT THESE ARE PRINCIPLES THAT
ARE GROUNDED IN OUR
CONSTITUTION.
THEY'RE THE SAME EXACT
PRINCIPLES I'LL FIGHT FOR WHEN I
TAKE THE OATH OF OFFICE ON THE
BENCH.
>> ED FALLONE, THANKS VERY MUCH
FOR JOINING US.
>> MY PLEASURE.
IN IN FACT, A QUICK RECHECK
SHOWS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF
MILWAUKEE COUNTY ITSELF DID NOT
ENDORSE, BUT PEOPLE LISTING
THEIR AFFILIATION WITH THE PARTY
HAVE DONE SO.
NEXT WEEK,