Major Development From Wisconsin's State Supreme Court
Late on Thursday, conservative State Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn sent a shockwave through Wisconsin’s political, legal, and labor landscapes: he recused himself from the Act 10 lawsuit making its way through the legal appeals process. Hagedorn was former Governor Scott Walker’s chief legal counsel in drafting and defending the law in court.
The liberals currently have a 4-3 majority on the Court, but with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring after this term, the conservatives have an opportunity to reclaim the Court in the April election. Liberal justice Janet Protasiewicz is also under pressure to recuse herself because she signed a petition to recall Governor Walker and has said she believed Act 10 was unconstitutional while campaigning.
Justice Brian Hagedorn. Credit: UWM
At the time of writing, she has not. If she would recuse herself, the liberals would still outnumber the conservatives 3-2 on the case, depending upon the timing of the when the case is heard. Should SCOWIS hear the case after the April election, it could be a 3-3 deadlock should former Walker Attorney General Brad Schimmel win.
While Judge Crawford has not stated her opinion on Act 10, I believe that she would be more friendly to labor’s argument given her previous rulings and statements.
Schimmel and Crawford. Credit: AP
In two days, the Wisconsin State Legislature is required to respond to the Abbotsford Education Association’s motion to bypass, meaning that the State Supreme Court would hear it directly and skip the State Court of Appeals. We may find out more in the coming days what the Court will do.
If Act 10 is struck down, I hope the floodgates to unionization open up. No longer on life support, Wisconsin’s labor unionizing potential would be unleashed and show that the People’s will cannot be denied forever.
While there have been challenges to Act 10 in the past, the openly-partisan conservative State Supreme Court rejected those arguments out of hand and the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said it did not violate the U.S. Constitution. Judge Frost, the Dane County judge who struck down the law in December, focused instead on the Wisconsin Constitution and came to the conclusion that the law violated the State Equal Protections Clause.
We are in the most frustrating stage of court-watching: the waiting.