UW Political Scientist on Alternate Ways of Seating Supreme Court Justices

Thursday, March 30th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(Bob Hague, WRN) Our contentious state Supreme Court race between conservative former Justice Dan Kelly and liberal Milwaukee County Janet Protasewicz may have voters wondering if there’s another way.

UW-Madison political scientist Barry Burden says there are several. “Everything from the open elections we have in Wisconsin to appointment by a governor who has the full power to do that, to something in between where you might have a commission that nominates candidates."

"Some states use retention elections, where a justice is appointed initially, and then can stay in office if they are retained by voters, but they don't actually face the opponents.”

Burden says electing justices as we do in Wisconsin means they can be held accountable by voters. But downsides include the huge amount of money candidates must raise, and potential conflicts of interest if donors appear as parties in cases before the court.

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