The Wisconsin Supreme Court picked up its fifth conservative Friday morning, when Governor Scott Walker appointed Rebecca Bradley to replace the late Justice Patrick Crooks.
Advertisement
Bradley will finish the final nine months of Justice Patrick Crooks’ term. Walker’s appointment was widely expected. The other two – Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Joe Donald and Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg – declined to apply and said they believed it would be inappropriate for the governor to appoint someone who was running for the seat.
She was chosen over two others who sought the appointment.
“I think it is an outstanding appointment”, Walker said.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized by Walker’s office to reveal the selection of Bradley, a judge on the 1st District Appeals Court.
Walker told reporters Thursday a long term vacancy on the Supreme Court would be bad for the state and for voters.
Bradley is also running for a full 10-year term on the court to be decided in an April 5 election.
Kloppenburg says she’ll be the people’s choice, and she’ll run against whom she called “Governor Walker’s choice”. “What they should be looking at is is this the best person qualified to be on the Wisconsin Supreme Court”.
Bradley downplayed the significance of Walker’s tacit endorsement after appointing her to three positions.
Walker lauded Bradley’s ability to work well with others in her previous roles, regardless of their ideologies.
Troupis was a longtime go-to attorney for Republicans and served as a lead attorney for Justice David Prosser’s campaign in 2011 when there was a recount. Former Gov. Tommy Thompson appointed Janine Geske to the supreme court in 1993 and she won election in 1994. And it will expand conservatives’ grip on the high court to a 5-2 margin.
Democrats also criticized Walker’s pick. “This power grab sets a awful precedent and doesn’t pass the smell test”. She graduated from Marquette University and obtained her law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, said Walker should have allowed voters to decide on the next justice.
Rebecca Bradley is a Milwaukee native. “However, I question why a judicial candidate would want to be so closely linked to a governor with a 37 percent approval rating”.
Advertisement
Walker said she the exact timing of when she would be sworn into office and begin working on the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear oral arguments in cases Monday, was still being worked out.
