Activist judge judicial conservative
legislating from the bench.
These are all terms that Supreme Court
candidates have been addressing for years.
And this year's candidates are no exception.
Soch County Judge Michael SKURNICK
And Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dalat
are facing off in this Tuesday's
spring election.
And in preparation for that Wisconsin
Public Television has gone back through
its archives
and taken a look at how candidates from
previous elections have responded
to these same questions.
In this retrospect
2008 candidate Michael Ableman
identified himself as a judicial
conservative.
They have a choice between me a judicial
conservative and my opponent a judicial
activist.
His opponent Lewis Butler
said he refused to use those
terms in the campaign.
My judicial philosophy is simple to uphold
the Constitution
and to hold all wrongdoers accountable
whoever they may be.
In 2009 candidate
Shirley Abramson spoke to her distaste
for these labels.
Why do we need any labels.
Just say I'll decide
cases on the basis of the fact
in law no
personal ideology.
Her opponent Randy Kushnick
self-identified as a judicial
conservative
and a strict constructionist
when you are a strict constructionist
you look for the plain meaning of the text.
First you don't read things into
the Constitution that are not there
and you don't ignore things that are
there. 2011 candidate David
Prosser acknowledged that he was
formerly partisan
but he accused his opponent JoAnne
Kloppenburg of withholding
her own bias.
How can Joe
and say that my role model
is the chief justice who is an
activist judge by anyone's
definition 2015 candidate
James Daly accused his
opponent Ann Walsh Bradley
of being an activist judge
negative as jurist places their own
personal beliefs their own
agendas
and their own political
ideals into their decisions.
We have a court that's a seven
member court for a reason.
They bring a diversity of opinion
a diversity of perspective so that
we can have judgments
and decisions that are well
balanced.
Other topics echoing from the past
that have appeared in this current race
are attack ads recusal
and large financial contributions
made to the candidates for this
nonpartisan seat.