Governor Walker will announce his choice for the upcoming vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court at 4pm Friday afternoon. Kelly will fill the seat Justice David Prosser is leaving in mid-term and will continue the court’s 5-2 conservative majority.
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Walker said during a prepared statement: “Daniel Kelly is an exceptionally accomplished trial and appellate attorney who has appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and Wisconsin Supreme Court”, Governor Walker said. He said Kelly passed his three tests for judicial appointees: he has integrity, he understands the law and he understands a judge’s job is to uphold only the state and federal constitutions.
Kelly wrote in application materials he submitted to Walker that same-sex marriage robs the institution of meaning, and that affirmative action can be likened to slavery. Hruz, who Walker appointed to the Appeals Court in 2014, served for a period of time as Prosser’s law clerk. He also sits on the board of advisers for the right’s legal bulldogs, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, which frequently takes conservative causes to the high court. In order to foster confidence that the court will not be importing personal beliefs into the work it does, I think it’s inappropriate for a justice to comment publicly on their political beliefs or political philosophy.
“He is a very bright, capable attorney who believes in a judiciary that interprets the law objectively, fairly, and follows where the law might lead”, Esenberg said. He spent a year as the vice president and general counsel for the Kern Family Foundation, which was established by the founders of Generac Power Systems. Wisconsin’s conservative chief justice, Patience Roggensack, agreed, saying Kelly “is going to be wonderful”.
As Isthmus reported in late June, Kelly makes up for what he lacks in judicial experience with deep ties to conservative organizations and strongly held ideological positions that count as radical even among Republicans.
“The role of the courts is separate and apart from our roles as individuals in the broader society”, Kelly said.
When questioned by reporters during Walker’s press conference, Kelly said it is not appropriate for Supreme Court justices to discuss personal or political opinions and that they have no role in his job as a justice.
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Kelly also writes that the sentiments expressed in the court’s ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act, issued prior to its 2015 ruling striking down all state laws against same-sex marriage, “will eventually rob the institution of marriage of any discernible meaning”. Bradley went on the win a 10-year term in November. Justice Annette Ziegler is up in 2017, Michael Gableman in 2018 and Shirley Abrahamson in 2019.
