Janet Protasiewicz Sworn in to Wisconsin Supreme Court

Thursday, August 3rd, 2023 -- 9:01 AM

(By Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) Promising to ensure justice and fairness for all, Justice Janet Protasiewicz was officially sworn in to a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Tuesday, flipping the court from a conservative to a liberal majority for the first time since 2008.

According to Shawn Johnson with Wisconsin Public Radio, the investiture ceremony bore similarities to a governor's inauguration. Hundreds gathered in the state Capitol rotunda to hear Protasiewicz speak, punctuating the roughly hour-long event with standing ovations and cheers.

Protasiewicz, who spoke for just over 20 minutes, largely avoided some of the hot-button themes that helped her mobilize Democratic voters in her high-turnout, double-digit victory in April. Absent was any mention of her belief that women have a right to choose when it comes to abortion or her assertion that the political maps drawn by Republicans were "rigged."

Instead, Protasiewicz talked about her time growing up on Milwaukee's south side, spending 25 years as a prosecutor in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office and most of the last decade as a circuit court judge.

"All of those long hours led to an incredible opportunity to see our judicial system up close, and it allowed me to see what I believe is universal," she said. "And that is everyone should get a fair shot to demand justice and not feel like the thumb is on the scale against them."

While the court is officially nonpartisan, the political ramifications of Protasiewicz's win are massive. For the past 15 years, the court was regularly an ally to Republicans, upholding many of the laws signed during the tenure of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Now, with a challenge to the state's pre-Civil War abortion ban already working its way through the state court system and a challenge to the state's redistricting plan looming, a high court run by liberal justices will have the final say.

The court's other three liberals, Justices Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet and Jill Karofsky, were all in attendance at Tuesday's ceremony.

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