MILWAUKEE — The most expensive state Supreme Court race in American history is over. The question now: Can Wisconsin expect an impartial court after a hyper-partisan, nonpartisan election?
"I think the answer is fundamentally yes. I think the problem is that we all view things through our own eyes and drawing in our own experiences," said Marquette University Law Professor Chad Oldfather.
He was a guest @TheTable Wednesday night to talk about the race that moved the court's ideology from conservative to liberal for the first time in 15 years.
In her victory speech, Justice-elect Janet Protaisewicz said voters wanted an impartial court. But former Justice Daniel Kelly claimed in his concession statement that "constitutional order" was in the minority after the votes were counted.
"So, you can't be impartial in the sense of having a judge who's simply a machine right, an algorithm, where you put in a punch card and get a result," said Oldfather @TheTable Wednesday. "There's always a human element involved and that's inescapable."
Professor Oldfather is in the process of writing a timely book titled: "Judges, Judging, and Judgment: The Importance of Judicial Character in a Polarized World."
"We all know folks in our day-to-day lives who have good judgment we all know people who maybe don't have such good judgment. It's that first category that we want to have as our judges," said Oldfather.
Watch the full conversation in the video at the top of this article.
Charles Benson and Shannon Sims interview key people in our community during TMJ4's @TheTable segment every weeknight at 10 p.m.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
