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The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2022-23 term, which ended on June 30, unfolded against the backdrop of the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history. While the election grabbed headlines, the term itself was a relatively quiet one—especially compared to the action-packed 2021-22 term and to what could be a blockbuster term in 2023-24.

"Five years ago, Meagan Wolfe took over a new but already embattled role: leader of Wisconsin's elections commission. She was chosen as a steady hand to take over the agency after Republicans who control the state Legislature pushed out its first chief, who had become a symbol of intense partisan controversy. Now, Wolfe finds herself in the same spot: facing the loss of her nonpartisan job to partisan politics."

"Maneuvering over the future of the current state elections administrator has ratcheted up in the Capitol as the state Senate’s Republican leader is vowing to move ahead with confirmation hearings and a vote on a nomination that Democrats argue doesn’t exist. On Tuesday, the three Republicans on the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) voted to nominate Meagan Wolfe for another four-year term as the commission’s administrator, effective July 1. Without a majority of the six-member commission, however, the nomination failed."

The Wisconsin Constitution requires the legislature to present proposed constitutional amendments to the people for a vote. In a decision out today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the judiciary plays only a limited oversight role in that process. A conservative four-justice majority concludes that an amendment survives review as long as the ballot language is not “fundamentally counterfactual” and has a “single general purpose.” The three liberal justices would have adopted a different standard—one that would have allowed the court to reject ballot language that did not reflect “every essential” of the amendment. Several concurring opinions debate the proper methods of constitutional interpretation and the scope of the judicial power.

"Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has upheld Marsy’s Law, a statewide constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2020 that outlines a list of rights for crime victims. A criminal justice reform advocacy group called the Wisconsin Justice Initiative sued over the changes, arguing the amendment’s impact wasn’t fully described to voters on ballots. "

"For over a decade, Democrats have called for undoing Wisconsin's Republican-drawn legislative maps, which are broadly considered the most gerrymandered in the nation. Those calls have grown louder since liberal Justice-elect Janet Protasiewicz, who has called the current maps "rigged," defeated conservative Dan Kelly by 11% in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. "

"The Wisconsin Supreme Court race will be a defining election for the state this year. Whether liberal-backed Judge Janet Protasiewicz or conservative-backed former Justice Daniel Kelly win, the election will either maintain or alter the narrow ideological balance of the court. This will greatly influence important, upcoming cases around abortion and gerrymandering. The state supreme court will also wield tremendous influence in the face of a divided government and eroding federal rights."

"On this episode of Newsmakers, Dustin Brown, Staff Attorney with the State Democracy Research Institute at UW Law School and Henrik Schatzinger, Interim Director of the Center for Politics and the People at Ripon College discuss the main thing voters should know about the State Supreme Court race before heading to the polls. And, depending on the outcome of this election, they discuss whether or not the high court would take action on redistricting maps prior to the 2024 presidential election."

"There a few state wide referendums that are the spring ballot: two that would amend the state constitution and another that would gauge popular opinion. We cover them all in today’s program. In the first half Dustin Brown from the UW Law School breaks down the two constitutional amendment referendums. The questions on the ballot address conditions of release before trail and the ability of a judge to impose cash bail. Dustin explains the process of amending the state constitution and what would happen if the referendums passed."

On April 4, Wisconsin will hold an election for a seat on its state supreme court, which has had a clear conservative majority since 2008. Two candidates — judicial conservative Daniel Kelly and progressive Janet Protasiewicz — have advanced out of a four-way primary and are vying to replace a retiring conservative justice. The election, which has already broken records for spending and primary turnout, represents liberals’ first chance in a decade to break the conservative lock.