(The Center Square) – The two judges who are running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court continue to talk about each other, but not on the same stage, or at the same time.
Liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford and conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and were on UpFront on Milwaukee TV over the weekend.
They talked about the race and what it could mean for some of Wisconsin’s likely and pending court cases.
Schimel said that includes any challenge to Act-10.
“I didn’t have any involvement in Act 10. By the time I was elected attorney general, the cases were all done in the Supreme Court and the federal courts,” Schimel said. “If there’s anything lingering, I didn’t have any direct involvement.”
Crawford said she would evaluate any potential Act-10 challenge before the state supreme court before deciding if she should step aside. She played a role in the first challenges to the law.
“I represented our public school teachers in a legal challenge to Act 10. I was in court fighting for their rights in the workplace after the government took them away,” Crawford said.
She was one of several lawyers who took Act 10 to court when it became law in 2011.
“Act 10, you know, the public I think kind of tends to think of it as like one uniform thing. It was a 50-page long bill that changed many different provisions of Wisconsin statutes,” Crawford said. “So, if there were another case presented to me involving some part of Act 10, I would look at which part is being challenged there. Who are the parties bringing that action? And is that a case I can be fair and impartial on, a case where I have not previously taken a position on the specific issue being raised?”
Crawford did not say if she’d step away from any abortion cases if elected to the supreme court. Crawford also represented Planned Parenthood in Wisconsin before she became a judge.
“I’m proud of the work that I did as a lawyer in our courts fighting for people’s rights, including Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin and their doctors, to protect their right to deliver health care services to women without having to be in fear of felony prosecution for doing it,” Crawford said.
Schimel, who calls himself pro-life, said he too doesn’t think he’d need to step away from any abortion-related cases that may end up before the court.
“I treasure life even when it’s not planned, but I respect that the law puts this in the hands of voters, and I will respect their will,” Schimel added. “I respect the limits on your power as a judge. Respect the separation of powers. You respect the constitution, the law. Those are all values that absolutely will affect my decision-making. But personal opinions? No, they don’t have any role.”
Recusals are just one of the issues that Schimel and Crawford are talking about as they head toward the ballot in April.
Their race will determine whether Wisconsin’s supreme court will continue to have a liberal majority or have conservative control.
