Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control for first time in 15 years

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.

On Tuesday, Janet Protasiewicz was sworn into the state Supreme Court, beginning her 10-year term on a high court likely to play a key role in the state’s debates over issues ranging from voting rights to abortion.

Protasiewicz replaces former conservative Justice Patience Roggensack on the court. In April, Protasiewicz, the liberal candidate, handily beat her conservative opponent, former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, in what is nominally a nonpartisan race.

At a ceremony held in the Capitol rotunda Tuesday, Protasiewicz was joined by state Democratic legislators, the Democratic secretary of state and attorney general, and Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, according to The Associated Press. The three other liberal justices and one conservative justice attended the ceremony as well. 

“We all want a Wisconsin where our freedoms are protected,” she reportedly said at the ceremony. “We want a Wisconsin with a fair and impartial Supreme Court. We all want to live in communities that are safe. And we all want a Wisconsin where everyone is afforded equal justice under the law.”

The race between Protasiewicz and Kelly shattered previous spending records, with more than $42 million pouring into the election; Protasiewicz held a $6 million advantage.

Protasiewicz made abortion rights a key issue in her campaign, giving some Democrats and abortion activists hope that the new liberal majority might mean the end of the state’s highly restrictive 1849 abortion ban, which offers few exceptions.

Though the judge declined to say definitively how she would vote on particular issues, an ad for her campaign said Protasiewicz “believes in women’s freedom to make their own decisions when it comes to abortion.”

The state’s Supreme Court has played key roles in other consequential issues over the last several years.

In 2020, the court nearly overturned Biden’s election win, coming one vote short of a majority. In 2022, the Supreme Court adopted Republican-drawn redistricting maps Protasiewicz has described as “rigged” for giving the GOP a significant electoral edge.