Choosing a WI Supreme Court Justice
Wisconsin voters will elect a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in April. The public is invited to join us for this webinar as three area experts explain different aspects of what voters need to consider in their WI Supreme Court justice decision. Our speakers will take questions from the audience.
Members will have an opportunity to explore these topics further in Discussion Units that will meet February 18 and 19. Find more information here.
Resource materials to come.
Our Speakers
On the task of judging a candidate for WI Supreme Court Justice
Rob Yablon
Robert Yablon is Professor of Law at the UW Law School, where he teaches the Law of Democracy, Civil Procedure, and Federal Jurisdiction. He also serves as the Faculty Co-Director of the State Democracy Research Initiative, which seeks to advance research and dialogue on state-level democracy, government institutions, and public law across the nation. Professor Yablon graduated from UW–Madison and Yale Law School, where he was an Articles Editor of the Yale Law Journal. He served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
On the role of campaign finance
Judge Paul B. Higginbotham
Judge Paul Higginbotham served almost fifteen years on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals before retiring in 2017. He also served as a municipal court judge and for 9 years as a Dane County Circuit Court judge. Judge Higginbotham graduated from UW–Madison, and the UW Law School. He was an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, and also served as a member of the UW Law School faculty. He currently serves on the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
On what to expect for the 2025-26 WI Supreme Court docket
Jeff Mandell
Jeff Mandell is the General Counsel of Law Forward, a law firm founded in 2020 with a mission of protecting democracy and working to ensure fair elections. He has handled various high-profile cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court involving redistricting, absentee-ballot drop boxes, and separation of powers. He is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School. He also served as a law clerk to the Honorable A. Raymond Randolph at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court.
Our Moderator
Marilyn Townsend
Marilyn Townsend is an attorney who serves as a Commissioner on the Labor and Industry Review Commission, where she decides appeals involving workers’ compensation, unemployment and discrimination claims. Prior to her current position she operated her own law firm for over 30 years. In 2017, she won a unanimous decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Operton v LIRC, which is often referenced for its reaffirmation of the principle that the unemployment compensation laws of Wisconsin are to be "liberally construed to effect unemployment compensation coverage for workers who are economically dependent upon others in respect to their wage-earning status."