Bradley criticizes liberals over case
Says they ‘predetermined’ redistricting matter
MADISON — The outcome of a challenge to Wisconsin’s legislative maps is “predetermined” by the court’s liberal majority, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote in a dissent issued Tuesday.
The court is considering taking up lawsuits filed directly with it, bypassing lower courts, earlier this month after the state’s highest court flipped to liberal control for the first time in years. The lawsuits seek to overturn maps drawn by Republican lawmakers and replace them ahead of the 2024 election
On Tuesday, the court ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to file responses to the petitions by Aug. 22.
In a dissenting opinion, Bradley wrote that “everyone knows” the court’s four liberal justices will grant the petitions.
“Despite receiving nearly $10 million from the Democrat Party of Wisconsin and declaring the maps ‘rigged,’ (Justice Janet) Protasiewicz has not recused herself from the case. These four justices will adopt new maps to shift power away from Republicans and bestow an electoral advantage for Democrat candidates, fulfilling one of Protasiewicz’s many promises to the principal funder of her campaign,” Bradley wrote.
While campaigning in January, Protasiewicz called the state’s legislative maps “rigged” in a public forum, and in March, she told Capital Times reporters in a podcast interview she would “enjoy taking a fresh look at the gerrymandering question.”
“They do not reflect people in this state. I don’t think you could sell any reasonable person that the maps are fair,” Protasiewicz, a former Milwaukee County judge, said in the January forum. “I can’t tell you what I would do