Would John Dillinger hide here?

As a kid living in Patch Grove in the early 1930s, it was rumored that the Grant County sheriff was looking for John Dillinger in the area. Supposedly he had slept overnight in the O'Neil barn about 3 miles north of Patch Grove.

It might be appropriate to include some rural Wisconsin scenes in the Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies " that Dillinger may have encountered while looking for a bank to rob or to get away from the law.

-- James M. Horsfall, Madison

I support Judge Michael Gableman for state Supreme Court justice. He grew up in Waukesha County, attended Ripon College and Hamline University School of Law and has had a distinguished and wide-ranging legal career. In 2002 he was appointed Burnett County Circuit Court judge and just months later won election with over 70 percent of the vote.

With 10 years of experience as a judge and prosecutor, he has presided over thousands of cases and consistently works to hold criminals accountable for their actions. He is the only candidate with prosecutorial experience.

Over 50 sheriffs and 38 district attorneys have endorsed him, as well as many police chiefs, assistant district attorneys and the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association.

Judge Gableman is firm, fair and consistent in decision making, believing in personal responsibility, accountability and community service and that courts must promote the safety and security of each citizen. He believes the court exists as a co-equal third branch of government, and will refrain from legislating from the bench.

-- Joan Meeder, Three Lakes

Avoid another special interests fiasco

Justice Louis Butler has served the law and the people of Wisconsin as a public defender, municipal and circuit court judge and as a justice of the Supreme Court. He can count among his supporters the Madison Professional Police Officers Association, the Milwaukee Deputy Sheriffs' Association, the Milwaukee Police Association and the Wisconsin Law Enforcement League.

He is faced with an opponent who has shown a willingness to mislead and a stubborn refusal to withdraw an ad which he knows is misleading. Justice Butler's opponent has shown disdain for the role of the public defender in our courts and a disregard for the constitutionally-guaranteed rights of citizens.

Thanks to special interest money, we were treated already this year to the spectacle of a justice being disciplined for ethical lapses. We can 't afford to be fooled again by those who would limit our access to the legal system.

-- Jim Brooks, Evansville

Group's bias is blatantly pro-Butler

Recent letters show people are upset if a candidate "goes negative" by revealing rulings by Supreme Court Justice Butler, or are "political" in the face of partisan groups masquerading as watchdog and "integrity committees."

Ads by those "supportive of Judge Gableman" but that may not have been the candidate's ads, state criminals are getting more justice than victims. A retired judge calls it a "stunted view of justice," but muggers are bailed out before the victim is out of the hospital.

Judge Michael Gableman won't legislate from the bench as Justice Louis Butler did in the lead paint case, making any paint maker liable for one company 's mistake. Butler's record shows bias in favor of the criminal in specific rulings.

The self-appointed elect Butler committee threw "integrity" in the name to cover the lack of same and called it the "Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee." It lacks integrity.

Doyle appointed Butler. Members or their wives have contributed to Doyle. Most are Democrats, with one self-described "disaffiliated Republican" as a token. Integrity for them isn't defined as "steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code." It means using deceit to gain the Supreme Court.

Will newspapers print stories from WJCIC without identifying their partisan nature? Will newspaper endorsements for Supreme Court give credence to WJCIC 's attacks on Gableman? No matter. Your vote on April 1 is all that matters.

-- Bill Richardson, Middleton

Butler's paint ruling raises questions

Justice Louis Butler's ruling that a boy who ingested lead paint could sue paint manufacturers, whether or not they were responsible, raises serious questions regarding his view of justice.

To Butler, it matters not whether the defendants were negligent or fraudulent, only that some boy has been harmed and industry has the ability to pay. Absent the necessity to prove culpability, Butler's view amounts to forced charity under the pretense of a trial.

-- Jim Allard, Madison

Subeck's experience will serve board well

Lisa Subeck would be an outstanding member of the Dane County Board from Madison's Southwest Side.

As a two-term president of the Woodhill Condominium Association (where I've lived for 15 years), Subeck has balanced budgets while working cooperatively with fellow board members and residents to efficiently provide needed services.

She is an active member of the Southwest Side community, serving on the Southwest Neighborhood Plan Steering Committee and helping to plan public safety listening sessions at Falk School.

Subeck's experience administering housing, child care and financial services for the YWCA and Head Start, and her service on the Wisconsin Youth and Family Center board, will help assure that our county board makes wise decisions with our tax dollars.

Elect Lisa Subeck to the Dane County Board of Supervisors from District 15.

-- Millard Eisler, Madison