Motions have been filed in a legal challenge to the state’s law providing public financing to Supreme Court candidates. Ed Hughes is attorney for Common Cause in Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and other groups which are siding with the state. “Wisconsin Right to Life filed a motion for summary judgement, asking the court to decide the case in its favor, on the basis that there aren’t any factual disputes that would preclude the court from ruling as a matter of law that the challenge provisions of the Impartial Justice Act are unconstutional,” said Hughes. “The defendents . . . who were sued by Wisconsin Right to Life and are defended by the attorney general, also filed a motion . . . which is similar to the motion Wisconsin Right to Life filed.” Hughes says that motion simply asks the court to rule that the provisions of the law are constitutional.
“It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if the case were resolved short of trial,” said Hughes. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the court does issue a ruling upholding the constitutionality of the statute or otherwise. And if that happens, an appeal is a virtual certainty, according to Barbara Lyons with Wisconsin Right to Life. “Our attornies certainly will want to appeal this decision,” said Lyons. “I would expect the state to appeal if we do win on the first round.” The Right to Life lawsuit, challenging the public financing law on constitutional grounds, is one of two such legal actions. The second was filed by former Supreme Court candidate Randy Koschnick, who lost his bid to challenge Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in 2008.
