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SCOWIS liberal control, Protasiewicz sworn in
Wisconsin Democrats celebrated the beginning of a new era for the state Supreme Court on Tuesday as it flipped from conservative to liberal control for the first time in 15 years.
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Democrats celebrated the beginning of a new era for the state Supreme Court on Tuesday as it flipped from conservative to liberal control for the first time in 15 years.
Janet Protasiewicz, who made abortion rights a focus of her winning election campaign and called Republican-drawn redistricting maps "rigged," marked the start of her 10-year term with a swearing-in ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda attended by an overflow crowd of hundreds, including many Democratic officeholders.
Janet Protasiewicz
Protasiewicz's win carries tremendous weight in Wisconsin, where the state Supreme Court has been the last word on some of the biggest political and policy battles of the past decade-plus.
The conservative-controlled court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden’s narrow win in the state in 2020, though Biden still would have had enough electoral votes to claim the presidency. More battles over voting rules and elections are expected leading up to 2024, along with challenges to the state’s abortion ban, Republican-drawn political boundary lines and a host of other hot-button issues.
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Protasiewicz promised not to bow to political pressure.
"We all want a Wisconsin where our freedoms are protected," she said at the ceremony. "We want a Wisconsin with a fair and impartial Supreme Court. We all want to live in communities that are safe. And we all want a Wisconsin where everyone is afforded equal justice under the law."
Janet Protasiewicz
State Democratic legislative leaders, the Democratic secretary of state and attorney general, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, and the three other liberal high court justices who, along with Protasiewicz now form the majority, attended. Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative whom Republicans backed but who has angered them by sometimes siding with liberals, was also there.
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s execution of our duties without favor to special interests, political pressure or our own personal beliefs is vital to giving people in our state trust and confidence in our judicial system," said Protasiewicz. "Wisconsinites deserve to know that we are making decisions based on the law and the facts before us."
Protasiewicz, who was previously a Milwaukee County judge, ran with backing and deep financial support from Democrats, abortion rights groups and other liberals in the officially nonpartisan race. She handily defeated her conservative opponent in April, raising expectations among liberals that the new court will soon do away with the state's abortion ban, order new electoral maps to be drawn and ensure a long line of Democratic success after 15 years of rulings that largely favored Republicans.
"My biggest thank you goes to the people of the state of Wisconsin for placing your trust in me and granting me this responsibility," said Protasiewicz. "I look forward to serving you as a member of this court and doing my best to represent a state that I have loved and called home my entire life."
Protasiewicz replaces retiring conservative Justice Pat Roggensack, who served 20 years, including six as chief justice.
While it may be a while before the court weighs in on some topics, a new lawsuit challenging the GOP-drawn legislative and congressional district maps is expected to be filed within weeks. And there is already a pending case challenging a pre-Civil War era abortion ban, and a county judge ruled last month that it can proceed while also calling into question whether the law actually bans abortions.
The rules for voting and elections are also expected to come before the court heading into the 2024 presidential election.
A national Democratic law firm filed a lawsuit last month seeking to undo a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling last year banning absentee ballot drop boxes.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, who attended the ceremony, said the court flipping to liberal control "could not have occurred at a more critical time."
The new liberal majority was making immediate changes: Randy Koschnick, who has been director of state courts for six years, said he was informed Monday that he would be fired Tuesday afternoon.
Koschnick is a former county judge who ran for the state Supreme Court in 2009 with support from conservatives but lost to then-Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, a liberal. Koschnick said he was told by liberal Justice Jill Karfosky that he was being fired because the court was "moving in a different direction."
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Reaction
WisGOP Communications Director Rachel Reisner
"Wisconsinites should brace themselves for an era of hyper partisanship brought on by Protasiewicz and her allies as they use the courts to implement their partisan policy agenda. Though the role of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is to interpret the laws of Wisconsin as they’re written, regardless of political beliefs, Protasiewicz has promised to put her thumb on the scales of justice and disregard the Constitution or laws on the books whenever she desires."
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson
"Wisconsinites turned out in record numbers in April to vote for the next Wisconsin Supreme Court justice. Today's swearing-in ceremony honors and celebrates the voices of Wisconsin voters."
A Better Wisconsin Together Executive Director Chris Walloch
"In April, voters decided that Wisconsin deserves a common sense state Supreme Court that will ensure our rights and freedoms are protected.
"Justice-elect Protasiewicz has made clear her philosophy that everyone should be considered equal before the law, and Wisconsinites overwhelmingly endorsed that sentiment when they rejected the division and right-wing extremism espoused by others who vied for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
"Today we mark a new chapter for fairness and equality in Wisconsin as we congratulate Justice-elect Protasiewicz on her new role as a state Supreme Court Justice."
Associated Press contributed to this report.