Wisconsin ‘08 was one of the nastiest state Supreme Court elections in modern history. Incumbent Justice Louis Butler went down to defeat after opponent Mike Gableman and business interests in the state ran slashing, misleading ads portraying him as soft on crime. We criticized the spots in several stories. Today, Gableman, though sitting on Wisconsin’s highest court, is still fighting a legal battle over whether he lied in one of the ads that helped put him there. And Butler? Earlier... Click to Read the Full Post
The Supreme Court’s June 8 decision in Caperton v. Massey established that there is such a thing as too much money, at least when it comes to campaign support for a judge who is hearing a case involving the supporter. And $3 million is definitely over the line, according to the majority opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy in the landmark 5-4 decision. Excessive campaign contributions to or in support of a judicial candidate can subvert the due process clause of the Constitution, Kennedy wrote.... Click to Read the Full Post
Q: Would Sonia Sotomayor really be the first Hispanic on the Supreme Court? A: Depending on your point of view, the late Benjamin Cardozo might be considered "Hispanic." Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Q: Has Sotomayor written that states have the power to ban handguns? A: A three-judge panel that included Sotomayor issued an unsigned decision saying that the Second Amendment does not apply to states, therefore states can regulate and ban weapons. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Q: What percentage of Sonia Sotomayor’s opinions have been overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court? A: Of the majority opinions that Judge Sonia Sotomayor has authored since becoming an appellate judge in 1998, three of them have been overturned by the Supreme Court. Click to Read the Full Post Read More →
Since President Obama’s announcement that he would nominate federal appellate Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, much attention has been given to her 2005 remark that the "court of appeals is where policy is made." The conservative Judicial Confirmation Network and others on the right are spotlighting the clip of Sotomayor speaking at Duke Law School. But what is Sotomayor really saying? It’s true that she immediately interrupted herself, saying jokingly to the... Click to Read the Full Post
Last spring’s Supreme Court race in Wisconsin featured some ugly ads, so ugly that we wrote about the false or misleading claims in them several times. Now, one of the worst of those spots (in our humble opinion) is the subject of a complaint by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission. The proceedings could alter the tenor of ads used in Wisconsin court races. The ad was sponsored by the campaign of a lower court judge, Mike Gableman, who was challenging Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler for his... Click to Read the Full Post
