Nichols-In the Courts of Fitzwalkerstan: Apr 5 Judicial Election Could Renew Checks & Balances in WI [View All]

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http://www.thenation.com/blog/159656/courts-fitzwalkerstan-april-5-judicial-election-could-renew-checks-balances-wisconsin

In the Courts of Fitzwalkerstan: April 5 Judicial Election Could Renew Checks & Balances in Wisconsin
John Nichols
April 2, 2011


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In announcing his candidacy for a new term, the justice identified himself as a conservative judicial activist who intended to use his position on the court to advance Walker's agenda. In the first announcement from his re-election effort, the message was clear: “Our campaign efforts will include building an organization that will return Justice Prosser to the bench, protecting the conservative judicial majority and acting as a common sense complement to both the new administration and Legislature.”

Months later, when that line began to stir controversy, Prosser attempted to step back from the statement. But then his campaign said that the April court election is about locking in a “conservative majority” on the court “and nothing more.”

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For Wisconsinites who prefer the ancient model of governing that put all power in a monarch, Prosser is the right choice. He is running as an explicit supporter of the governor. That is his right. But it is also the right of the voters to set a higher standard.

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Now they have an opportunity to defend that standard once more. The April 5 Supreme Court vote provides a stark choice between a partisan judicial activist who would make the court an extension of the governor’s office and a respected legal scholar, litigator and prosecutor who would restore the court’s independence.

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