MADISON, Wis. — Days before she’s set to be sworn in, incoming Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Susan Crawford insists her colleagues aren’t motivated by politics.
Since taking control of the court two years ago, liberal justices have ruled the state’s legislative maps unconstitutional, struck down a 176-year-old abortion ban, and sided with Wisconsin’s Democratic governor in fights with Republican lawmakers, creating the perception among some voters that justices are carrying out a political agenda.
“I don’t believe any of the justices on the court are making decisions from a political lens or based on a political outcome that they want to achieve, and it is really distressing to me when I see justices on the court accusing each other of partisanship in making their decisions,” Crawford said in an interview. “What I see are justices who have deeply held beliefs about the law and how it should be applied and are appropriately explaining their decisions.”
In scathing dissents, the court’s three conservatives have blasted recent majority opinions as unfounded.
Watch TMJ4's full interview with Justice Susan Crawford:
“The decision today cannot be justified under any reasonable reading of the Wisconsin Constitution,” Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote in one case.
Justice Annette Ziegler called the court’s abortion ruling earlier this month “jaw-dropping” and accused liberals of making their “personal preference the law.”
Despite openly hostile exchanges in oral arguments and in written opinions, Crawford says she’s found the other justices on the court to be collegial and welcoming.
Watch: Incoming Justice Susan Crawford says Wisconsin Supreme Court's rulings aren't politically driven
“They really have given me consistent advice across the board, and it is really – it’s clear to me that it’s important to all the justices on the Supreme Court to keep an open mind, to listen to one another, to not get too wedded to a position in a case too early, because things can change at oral argument, things can change during discussion among the justices.” Crawford said. “That is something that they’ve all told me.”
As an attorney, Crawford previously worked for a Democratic governor and brought challenges to Republican-authored laws on abortion and labor rights. Since 2018, she’s served as a circuit court judge in Dane County.
“All judges were lawyers once and had to make that transition from being an advocate to being a neutral, objective decision maker,” she said. “I went through that transition some years ago, and I am not approaching the job as an advocate.”
Crawford won election in April in the most expensive state judicial race in U.S. history, preserving liberal control of the court through at least 2028. The Democratic Party and liberal interest groups backed her campaign with millions in spending, while conservative groups and the Republican Party threw their support behind her opponent, Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general.
Crawford prevailed in a landslide victory, beating Schimel by 10 percentage points in a political battleground where statewide races routinely come down to less than 1% of the vote. She's set to take her oath of office on Friday.
During her first year in office, the court could hear challenges to Wisconsin's congressional maps, cases on unions and labor rights, or fights over voting rights.
“I have accountability to the people who elected me for this job, and this job is to interpret the law fairly, to equally the rights of all Wisconsinites,” Crawford said. “What I hope to show people is that I’m making my decisions based on what I believe the law requires, and not making decisions, again, based on some kind of political litmus test.”
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