MADISON, WI (WTAQ) – The Wisconsin Supreme Court picked up its fifth conservative Friday morning, when Governor Scott Walker appointed Rebecca Bradley to replace the late Justice Patrick Crooks.
Many observers expected the move after the Republican Walker appointed her to the state appeals court in May, and to a Milwaukee County circuit judgeship in 2012.
Walker introduced Bradley at a late morning news conference. She was chosen over two others who sought the appointment.
The state’s highest court now has a 5-2 conservative majority. Crooks, who died last month, was considered a swing vote in major cases.
Democrats immediately condemned the appointment, saying Walker should have left the post vacant and let voters decide who to choose in a scheduled election next spring.
Critics say Bradley will have an incumbent’s edge when she goes up against judges Joe Donald and JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Walker says Wisconsinites want a full seven-member court as it returns to session next week — and leaving the post open was not an option.
Kloppenburg says she’ll be the people’s choice, and she’ll run against whom she called “Governor Walker’s choice.”
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
