VOTE FOR JOANNE KLOPPENBURG
Justice Rebecca Bradley, appointed by Governor Walker three times–to circuit court, appellate court, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court–in the last three years, is running for a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Here are some reasons why Wisconsinites should vote for her opponent, Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg.
In 1992, Bradley, then known as Rebecca Grassl, authored a column and letters to the editor at Marquette University that were extremist, hateful and intolerant of people different from her or who voted for candidates she did not support. Bradley obviously hoped the articles would never surface, saying now she is embarrassed and mortified by them.
Bradley was appointed to the Supreme Court in October 2015. In February 2016 she left court during oral arguments to give a speech to the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, a conservative business lobbying group that has spent heavily supporting judicial candidates. Bradley put her personal non-emergency needs above her duties to the litigants/appellants, who spent considerable time, effort and funds bringing their case before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. When asked about her absence, Bradley said she watched the rest of the argument on WisconsinEye and missed nothing. Bradley told the business leaders at the WMC meeting, “I am your public servant.” http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/rebecca-bradley-left-court-arguments-early-for-speech/article_20a7c6c4-8034-5185-8cdc-9f4a06c52399.html.
An unregulated special interest group with ties to the Koch Brothers, Wisconsin Alliance for Reform, spent $1 million in pro-Bradley ads during the primary and is spending $700,000 now to run a negative ad against Judge Kloppenburg that is absolutely false. The ad refers to State v. Fierro, a case in which Fierro pleaded guilty to sexual assault and then appealed his conviction, stating he didn’t understand his plea agreement. The three-judge Court of Appeals on which Kloppenburg sits ruled unanimously to send the case back to the lower court for hearing on that question. The lower court held a hearing and found Fierro did understand his plea deal. The ad, while discussing Fierro’s case, writes “Conviction Overturned” on the screen. These facts are indisputable: Fierro’s conviction was not overturned; the Court of Appeals, including Kloppenburg, followed the law; the lower court followed the law; and Fierro, a convicted criminal, remains in prison. http://www.thewheelerreport.com/wheeler_docs/files/0308kloppenburg.pdf.
Contact Bradley’s campaign, 608-535-6860, to ask that: 1) Bradley publicly disavow the ad, and 2) Bradley demand that Wisconsin Alliance for Reform withdraw the ad. Contact your local TV station to insist they pull the ad. Media outlets are not obligated to air deceptive third-party ads; they do have a duty to viewers to deliver the truth over public airways.