Eminent Domain

Well, it looks like we're going to have a primary election for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court after all. Burnett County Circuit Judge Michael Gableman threw his hat into the ring to take on Justice Louis Butler next year. Sun Prairie attorney Charlie Schutze jumped into the race in early September, so now we have three names on the ballot. Gableman is running as a non-partisan, but Schutze seems to be taking a more direct approach...

"No seat on the Supreme Court should ever go unopposed especially when that seat is currently held by a liberal political appointee and not an elected official," Schutze said.

And from his press release...

"I am deeply concerned about the unfriendly business environment that has been created in this state by the high court's careening to the left to protect special interest groups at the expense of common sense," Schutze stated. "We continue to lose our best and our brightest graduates to companies outside of the state. We handicap our businesses with the burden and cost of over-regulation, provide little or no incentives to our companies and employees, and yet we blame them for the ills of our economy."

Gableman has posted a video introducing himself to the voters...

This is going to be a very important race. The balance of the court could be shifted with this election. Currently, the court has three liberals, three conservatives, and one swing vote. A loss of one of the liberals, Butler, could dramatically change the direction of law in the state.