WI Supreme Court

New on NewsReal – Miraculous GOP Turnaround Causes Michael Moore to Drop the Act and Ask Obama to Disenfranchise Wisconsin

Calvin Freiburger David Prosser, democracy, extremism, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, JoAnn Kloppenburg, Left, liberalism, Michael Moore, NewsReal, Scott Walker, tyrants, WI Supreme Court, Wisconsin

My latest NewsRealBlog post:

In a stunning development, a clerical error in Wisconsin has transformed what many expected to be a long, ugly legal battle favoring the Left into an almost certain victory for the Right, outraging leftists like Michael Moore, to the point where the radical “documentarian” has stopped bothering to hide his disdain for the democratic process.

The intense Wisconsin Supreme Court race between the incumbent Republican, Justice David Prosser, and his Democrat challenger, state DNR enforcer JoAnn Kloppenburg, ended Wednesday with the latter declaring victory based on the Associated Press’s calculation of a 204-vote lead. Prosser didn’t budge, and most predicted an onslaught of recounts and vote fraud litigation to ensue.

But on Thursday evening we learned that Waukesha county clerk Kathy Nickolaus had erroneously passed on the county’s data to the AP without the numbers from the city of Brookfield, which shifted the lead to Prosser by more than 7,000 votes. Leftists are predictably outraged that hijacking the judiciary to thwart Governor Scott Walker’s public-sector union reforms won’t work after all, though none have topped the overreaction of Moore, who tweeted last night:

Republicans created the rule: “Whoever declares victory first, wins!” When will Obama Justice Dept impound ballots and stop the shenanigans?

Much has been said about the totalitarian impulse and anti-constitutionalism behind modern leftism, but rarely is it expressed so overtly by one of their own. Moore wants the federal government to forcibly prevent the certification of a state election and give the office to someone based strictly on her own, premature and entirely unofficial, declaration of victory?

Read the rest on NewsRealBlog.

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A (Perhaps Unnecessary) Plea for Action

Calvin Freiburger budget, David Prosser, good news, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, JoAnn Kloppenburg, judiciary, politics, unions, WI Supreme Court, Wisconsin
A few hours ago, I sent out the following letter to many friends and colleagues in Wisconsin. Fortunately, new developments may render it unnecessary.
To my fellow Wisconsinites,

As you know, the final outcome of the state Supreme Court election will have tremendous ramifications for our future. JoAnn Kloppenburg is an environmental zealot with a record of disdain for the personal liberties of Wisconsin residents. She benefitted from a slanderous attack on David Prosser and did not have the decency to condemn it, despite the victim of the Prosser case calling on her to disavow the “offensive” and “inaccurate” ad.
As a judge, she will certainly rule based on her politics rather than the state Constitution, and we can expect her rulings to consistently side with government bureaucrats who want to micromanage our lives, and against the individual rights of the people. (By contrast, Prosser’s long judicial record matches his rhetoric, proving that he is an independent, impartial judge.) By giving the Supreme Court a liberal majority, her victory would, for all intents and purposes, rescind self-government in our state until the next Supreme Court election. The danger is that serious. For Kloppenburg’s supporters, this election was never about judicial philosophy; it was a proxy war to wage against Governor Walker’s agenda and preserve the dominance of government unions over our state.
As it stands, we do not know who won the election on Tuesday. Kloppenburg claimed her 204-vote lead as a victory, but as of Thursday afternoon, the lead has shifted to Prosser by 40 votes. We will not have a final answer for some time. But if Wisconsin history tells us anything, it’s that the Democrats and their allies will pull out all the stops to steal this election. We’ve already started to see several allegations of vote fraud and other suspicious activity, and more is sure to come in the days ahead.
Right now, the only hope Wisconsin has lies with the alertness and dedication of the state Justice Department. So I’m writing you today to ask you to all to contact Attorney General JB Van Hollen, to urge him to vigorously investigate and prosecute all reports of voter fraud in the days and months to come, and to watch the recount process very carefully. Ask your friends and family to do the same (feel free to forward this email to as many people as you can think of). Contact Governor Walker and your representatives, and demand that they pressure the Attorney General’s Office to take this seriously. You may contact each office below:
JB Van Hollen: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/ag/contact.asp
Scott Walker: http://walker.wi.gov/section.asp?linkid=1714&locid=177
Find Your Legislator: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx
I appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedules to read this. Take care.
Calvin Freiburger

Reporter Point-Counterpoint

Calvin Freiburger Clifford, reporter, scandal, WI Supreme Court, Ziegler
Two opinions on the state Court race today. First, Senator Glenn Grothman weighs in:
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The election for Supreme Court on Tuesday is one of the most important in years.
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Governors serve for four years, state legislators for two or four, but Supreme Court justices serve for 10 years. As courts become more activist, they can do more harm to our business climate than government bureaucrats. They can order government to spend more money and drive up taxes.
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Little old Wisconsin has attracted national interest in the Wall Street Journal for having one of the worst Supreme Courts in the nation.
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I’ve known Judge Annette Ziegler for 10 years and am confident she will stand up for justice against the activist wing of the court. Her opponent is being supported by the same Madison trial attorneys who have created the current mess.
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Please join me in voting for Annette Ziegler.
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Why would Clifford continue the activist mess? Maybe it has something to do with this story…or this one…
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And in this corner, we have Ted & Hedy Eischeid:
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We have watched the current State Supreme Court race between Linda Clifford and Annette Ziegler with some interest.
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Such non-partisan races can be tough ones for voters trying to make the best choice. In addition, several interest groups are running ads for both candidates that simply make the choice more confusing.
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However, there is one standard that decides who we will vote for and that is integrity. Judicial candidates can’t speak about how they will vote on future cases, but we as voters can look at their records and decide which of the candidates will be a fair judge who will decide cases with intelligence and integrity.
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Given this perspective, we will be voting for Linda Clifford. Mrs. Clifford has an outstanding legal record, one of integrity and intelligence. Unfortunately, her opponent, Annette Ziegler, has clearly violated the Judicial Code of Conduct multiple times.
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If Judge Ziegler can’t follow a simple ethical code expected of all judges, how can she fairly hear cases brought before the highest court in the state? We don’t care how much experience she has as a judge — flawed ethical behavior as a judge equals a flawed judge. Judge Ziegler’s version of integrity simply doesn’t pass the smell test.
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Based on this critical issue of integrity, we will be voting for Linda Clifford on April 3. For the State Supreme Court, integrity does matter. Vote for a breath of fresh air on Tuesday.
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OK, class, what’s missing in this letter? Anyone? If your guess was “What ethical violations?” you’re correct!
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For more information on the scandals of the race, check out this article from Fact Check, which says that while “The investigation by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission may clear that up, albeit after the election,” there’s currently “no evidence that the Zieglers got any financial benefit from her rulings.”

Quote of the Day

Calvin Freiburger Clifford, Owen Robinson, quote, WI Supreme Court
“It seems pretty clear that Clifford believes that the role of a judge is to do pretty much whatever she wants. She should be immune from the other branches of government and even from rulings from other courts. This woman doesn’t want to be a Supreme Court Justice. She wants to be a monarch.”
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Owen Robinson, on State Supreme Court candidate Linda Clifford’s insane assertion that state justices “don’t…need to be in lock step” with higher-ranking courts

WI Supreme Court: The Race Is On

Calvin Freiburger Clifford, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, reporter, WI Supreme Court, Wisconsin, Ziegler

Two letters today on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race:
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Experience makes Ziegler best choice
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On April 3, voters have a clear choice when selecting the next Supreme Court Justice.
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Judge Annette Ziegler, who has been on the bench for 10 years, is the only judge running for the Supreme Court.
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Judge Ziegler’s opponent, Madison immigration lawyer Linda Clifford, has never been a judge on any level.
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Judge Ziegler is known to be tough on crime and has put hundreds of criminals behind bars for a total of over 1,000 years.
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Judge Ziegler has been endorsed by a majority of Wisconsin’s sheriffs and district attorneys. Republicans and Democrats alike are backing her campaign.
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In fact, every single law enforcement group that has endorsed in the Supreme Court race has endorsed Judge Ziegler.
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Judge Ziegler has been endorsed by a majority of her fellow judges. Judges from every part of Wisconsin agree that Judge Ziegler’s experience and background make her the right choice for the Supreme Court.
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Judge Ziegler is the clear choice for the Supreme Court. Please join me in voting for Judge Ziegler on Tuesday, April 3.
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Linda Becker
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Clifford stands up for working people
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With the spring election less then two weeks away many people are just becoming aware of the race for the State Supreme Court.
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This race isn’t about who is a Republican and who is a Democrat — it’s a nonpartisan race. That means we have to look to see who the most qualified candidate is.
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I feel that person is Linda Clifford.
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Linda has 32 years of legal experience and is the only candidate who has ever argued a case in front of the Supreme Court.
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Linda worked her way through college as a union steelworker. During law school she clerked at the Department of Justice. She also served as assistant attorney general and now is a full partner at a Madison law firm.
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Linda will stand up for the rights of consumers and working people. Linda also has consistently stood up to protect the environment and take on polluters. Linda has earned many endorsements, including that of U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and former Gov. Lee Dreyfus.
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One of the few areas I can think of where a judge can legitimately “take a stand” for working people is eminent domain. Can we take this to mean Clifford doesn’t want the government taking people’s homes?
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On April 3 I think the choice is easy. Vote for Linda Clifford — working with real people, solving real problems.
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Sue Reich