I'm voting Judge Randy Koschnick on April 7th

Do you want a Supreme Court Justice to apply the law, not make it? To in effect umpire the baseball game by calling the balls, strikes, outs, and plays, not make up new rules as the game progresses?

Making up the rules as you go along in a game isn't fair. If we are talking about a judge ruling on a case, it is dangerous. Unfortunately, legislating from the bench is the trend with many judges these days. I'm looking for judges who simply carry out the rule of law. That is why I am voting for Judge Randy Koschnick in April's election.

Judge Koschnick's pledge says it well: “The role of a justice is to apply the law; not make it. I pledge to not legislate from the bench."

Most people are pretty unaware there even is a Wisconsin Supreme Court race on the April ballot. There has not been all that much in the news about this contest. It will be up to conservatives and those voters who care enough to look at the ballot races to ferret out any information about the candidates.

Our current sitting Wisconsin Supreme Court Judge, Shirley Abrahamson, has a much larger campaign war chest--with over $30,000 of it coming from attorneys who have cases pending before her! Think that is right?

According to "a recent survey of 600 Wisconsin residents show[ing] that 78% of those polled believe that [campaign] contributions have a 'great deal' or 'some' influence on Wisconsin judges' decisions."

You can keep up with Koschnick's campaign though on his website, koschnickforjustice.com There is a convenient link to news stories there as well as video of his interviews and debate. His list of endorsements includes familiar names such as former Waukesha County D.A. Paul Bucher, our current D.A. Brad Schimel, and Sheriff Daniel Trawicki.

Blogger Randy Melchert has been following his campaign too at randallmelchert.com, filed under Randy Koschnick - Supreme Court.

I heard Judge Randy Koschnick speak at the Defending the American Dream Summit on March 7th. As a staunch supporter of the Constitution, he emphasized that judges should respect the Constitution and apply it as written.

Judge Koschnick told the audience an interesting bit about his opponent, Shirley Abrahamson (appointed by Governor Lucy in 1976). When President Clinton was contemplating a pick for the United States Supreme Court, he considered Judge Abrahamson but decided she was TOO LIBERAL. Clinton picked Ruth Bader Ginsburg INSTEAD! You can catch Judge Koschnick's speech by clicking here, thanks to Badger Blogger.

Respecting the Constitution means respecting all of it, including 2nd Amendment rights; Koschnick is endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund.

One of Shirley Abrahamson's more famous cases was the 2005 lead paint liability case. The plaintiff,

"Steven Thomas, had suffered lead paint* injury from living in two houses built, respectively, in 1900 and 1905, that had lead paint on their walls. ...he sued a variety of companies...known collectively as the Pigment Manufacturers. Thomas wanted financial damages from the manufacturers on the grounds that one of them had produced a product that caused his injury. The plaintiff had already successfully sued his landlords, obtaining a financial settlement from them..."

The ruling, written by Louis Butler (who Wisconsin voters ousted last year) prevailed in a 4-2 vote. Shirley Abrahamson was one of the 4 in favor of this absurd ruling. According to Justice Wilcox, a dissenter: (My emphasis)

"The end result of the majority opinion is that the defendants, lead pigment manufacturers, can be held liable for a product they may or may not have produced, which may or may not have caused the plaintiff's injuries, based on conduct that may have occurred over 100 years ago when some of the defendants were not even part of the relevant market."

For me, the choice is easy; the differences are stark. Don't let Shirley's TV ads fool you into thinking she is a conservative. Obviously she is not.

As always, research the candidates for yourself and be an informed voter. If you agree Judge Randy Koschnick is the better choice, spread the word.

*I have lived in many houses with lead paint on the walls and woodwork. Practically every house in Wisconsin built before 1978 has been painted with lead based paint at some time in its life.

Links:
Practically Speaking, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, RandyMelchert, CNS News, Jay Weber, Mark Levin, Vicki McKenna Jay Weber, The Right View Wisconsin, The Heritage Foundation