Should state Supreme Court justices choose their leader? Voters will decide on April 7th

MADISON (AP) — Wisconsin voters will decide on April 7th whether to amend the state constitution to let state Supreme Court justices choose their leader.

Approval almost certainly would mean the court's conservative majority will strip long-time Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson of her title. Abrahamson and her close friend, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, are generally seen as the court's liberal minority and have been openly feuding with the conservative justices for years.

The Wisconsin Constitution says the justice with the most seniority is automatically chief. The chief serves as lead administrator for the state court system. The chief can assign any judge or justice to work any case below the Supreme Court, designate and assign reserve judges and schedule oral arguments before the high court, among other duties.

Republicans who control the Legislature crafted a constitutional amendment that would allow the justices to vote on who should serve as chief. The GOP has passed the amendment in two consecutive sessions, setting up a statewide vote on the measure Tuesday.

Republican lawmakers say the amendment is meant to inject a dose of democracy into the high court.

"The chief justice serves as the administrative head of the state's entire court system and sets the direction for Wisconsin's judicial branch," said Rep. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, the amendment's chief Assembly sponsor. "It is imperative that our Supreme Court justices have the ability to choose who they think is most qualified for that role."

But opponents say the amendment is really a thinly veiled mechanism to neuter Abrahamson.

Abrahamson, who became the state's first female justice when Gov. Patrick Lucey appointed her to the court in 1976, has served as chief since 1996.

The court's four-justice conservative majority has been bickering openly with Abrahamson and Bradley for years. Emails emerged in 2011 that revealed conservative-leaning Justice David Prosser, a former Republican state Assembly speaker, referred to Abrahamson as an (expletive) and had vowed to "destroy" her. Prosser also acknowledged to police that he wrapped his hands around Bradley's throat after she charged him during an argument in chambers that same year.

Abrahamson has said the change would tarnish the constitution and threaten the judiciary. She pointed out voters have re-elected her twice as chief justice in 1999 and 2009 and if they didn't want her to lead the court system they wouldn't have let her keep her job.

Former Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, has tried to build opposition to the amendment, calling it a partisan power grab. The most valuable player in the court system is someone who has been doing the job a long time and has a deep well of knowledge, Lautenschlager said.

"When did it become bad in Wisconsin to be senior, mature, experienced and to be well-qualified?" she said.

Bradley faces a re-election challenge from Rock County Circuit Judge James Daley on Tuesday. She's still found time to come to her Abrahamson's defense, saying the amendment is an attempt to get rid of balance on the court.

Polls open at 7:00 a.m. on April 7th.