With just over two weeks until the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, candidates JoAnne Kloppenburg and Rebecca Bradley are making sure voters know how they approach judicial decisions.
Bradley currently holds the seat on the Supreme Court after Governor Scott Walker appointed her in September 2015. Her opponent, Kloppenburg, sits on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and was the Assistant Attorney General for the Wisconsin Department of Justice for 23 years.
Throughout the campaign, Kloppenburg has raised concern over Bradley's experience, who rapidly ascended through Wisconsin courts after Governor Walker appointed her to three judgeships in three years.
"Rebecca Bradley owes her judicial career to Governor Walker," Kloppenburg said. "I owed my judicial career to the people of Wisconsin."
However, Bradley says she has an extensive history as a lawyer in the private sector, and also a trial court judge.
"I'm the first Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in state history to serve at every level of the judiciary, including the trial court bench," Bradley said.
The two have also debated their ability to stay impartial on the bench, which both say they've always done.
"I have a non-partisan background, having been elected to the Court of Appeals in 2012, and issued hundreds of decisions since then," Kloppenburg said.
"The principles that I apply in my judicial decision-making are the same, regardless of whether the law has been enacted by a Republican legislature or a democratic legislature," Bradley said.
The election is April 5th.
