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Butler for Supreme Court

An editorial  —  3/27/2008 5:37 am

There is a reason why more than 220 Wisconsin jurists have endorsed Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler while only nine are supporting his challenger in the April 1 election. Judges know judges, and the overwhelming majority of Wisconsin judges know that Butler is one of the most remarkably qualified and able jurists ever to sit on the high court.

Wisconsin's elected Supreme Court has benefited from the service of lawyers with many backgrounds. Some have come as experienced trial judges, others have come from the Legislature, still others from law school faculties and private practice.

There is no sure calculus for a great justice versus a mediocre one -- or worse.

With Butler, however, there is no need to calculate.

When he was appointed to the high court by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2004, Butler's experience ran as broad and deep as that of anyone who has ever joined the court.

A lawyer for more than three decades, he began his career with the state Public Defender's Office, where he earned high marks as a trial lawyer, an appellate lawyer and a manager. Butler was the first public defender in Wisconsin history to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He also directed the Wisconsin Public Defender Clinical Program at Marquette Law School, where he has served as an adjunct assistant professor of law.

Appointed and then elected as a judge on the Milwaukee County Municipal Court, he served with distinction for a full decade before his election in 2002 to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Since 1997, Butler has served on the faculty of the National Judicial College, training jurists from the U.S. and foreign lands. A mentor to hundreds of young lawyers, he has served as the president of legal associations and made a special effort to reach out to communities that have historically been neglected by legal elites.

Since his appointment to the high court, Butler has established himself as a thoughtful and moderate jurist who reaches across lines of ideology. On a court that has suffered some division in recent years, he has been a congenial and conciliating influence. In large part, this is because Butler's fellow justices are united in their recognition of his impressive legal skills.

Butler's challenger, Mike Gableman, cannot compete with Butler when it comes to experience or temperament. So Gableman has resorted to sleaze, running what the Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee has decried as "an offensive, race-baiting" campaign against the state's first African-American justice.

Gableman's campaign has been so crude that it demands rejection by the voters of Wisconsin.

Happily, voters can reject Gableman's tactics while selecting an outstanding jurist for a 10-year term on the high court.

That jurist is the judge whom judges support: Louis Butler.

An editorial  —  3/27/2008 5:37 am