Dorow joins crowded state Supreme Court field, candidates make their pitch to voters

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WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The field for candidates vying to join the state Supreme Court is solidifying following the entrance into the race by Waukesha County Chief Judge Jennifer Dorow.

Dorow formally launched her campaign at the Waukesha County Courthouse alongside family, friends and supporters. The 52-year-old judge gained statewide and national recognition following her presiding over the trial of the man who killed six and injured dozens more at last year's Waukesha Christmas parade. Now, Dorow is positioning herself as a judicial conservative and aiming to couple her newly won name recognition with her experience to join the state's highest court.

"It will undoubtedly be one of the most important elections for Wisconsin in recent history," Dorow said at her campaign launch. "We must replace Justice Roggensack with a judicial conservative who will fairly and faithfully apply the law as written."

The 2023 spring election will determine the ideological balance of the state Supreme Court, the result of which will have massive implications for issues like abortion, gerrymandering and more.

Conservatives are hoping to solidify their majority and avoid a swing voter, a label often applied to Justice Brian Hagedorn, who joined the bench in 2019. CBS 58 asked Dorow at her campaign launch how voters seeking a judicial conservative should consider their choices on the ballot.

"I have been a judicial conservative for my entire career, this is not something I just drummed up because I wanted to run for office," Dorow replied. "I am committed to the principals of the rule of law and applying our constitution and the rule of law as they are written to the facts of each individual case."

Dorow will be joining three candidates who've already declared their candidacy for the state's high court.

The two liberal leaning candidates include Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz. Former conservative state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly is also a contender in the race.

Everett Mitchell

Mitchell is a former prosecutor and presiding judge of Dane County's Juvenile Division and drug court program. He's the only person of color in the race and believes the state's high court should reflect the growing diverse population across the state.

"I think having a diverse background and experiences, being able to do the many different things in my career, have gave me a different profile," Mitchell said.

When asked how he plans to be fair and impartial on the bench if elected, Michell said he knows how to separate between justice and politics.

"Everybody deserves a fair shot at justice and fairness in our courts," said Mitchell. "I've always firmly believed in the idea, just like we separate our religious ideas in what we do in our courts, I also think we should do the same -- separate our partisanship and politics."

Mitchell said he was raised by a single mom and was the first person in his family to go to college, attending the University of Wisconsin Law School.

Some of his judicial role models include Justice Louis Butler, Wisconsin's first Black state Supreme Court justice, and Thurgood Marshall, an American civil rights lawyer and judge whose work ethic inspired Mitchell to get involved in law.

Janet Protasiewicz

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz said she entered the race to go up against “radical right-wing extremists."

Protasiewicz, who was a longtime assistant prosecutor before elected in 2013 to serve as Milwaukee County judge, said if she's elected, "we'll have four justices who uphold the law and uphold the constitution," referring to the court which currently leans 4-3 in conservatives' favor.

Daniel Kelly

The other Conservative candidate is Daniel Kelly. He too wouldn't comment on Attorney General Josh Kaul's challenge to the 1849 abortion ban.

"The people of Wisconsin deserve jurists who will come to a case without prejudging how they're going to come out on it," said Kelly.

The former Supreme Court Justice is trying to reclaim the seat he lost in the 2020 election.

"So if anyone is interested in knowing what kind of jurist I will be they can look at what kind of jurist I have been," said Kelly.


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