Daily Cardinal: Why should students vote for you for a 10-year term on the Supreme Court?
Michael Gableman: Students should vote for me for the same reason that everybody else will, that is the fact that as a judicial conservative I will give a fair application to the plain language of the law. I'm going to apply the law, I'm not going to make it. Students can have faith and confidence that when I make a ruling or when I vote a certain way or make an order, that it means something more than my own personal, political or social view. I don't think that's what anyone wants from their justices. I think they want a fair and consistent application of the law. As a former prosecutor and as well as a circuit court judge, I've done what I can to help provide for the safety of all individuals, safety for students, safety for victims, safety for all concerned. I really do think there are a series of decisions on my opponent's part where he has tied the hands of law enforcement, and therefore make us all less safe and secure. I think that is reflected in our very different backgrounds, at the same time that I was working hard to put child sexual offenders and rapists behind bars, my opponent was a long time criminal defense attorney working hard to get them back out on the streets. I have a reputation as a circuit court judge for being one that is very concerned about upholding the rights of criminals, but also upholding the rights of victims as well.
DC: What experiences or qualifications do you think qualify you to serve?
MG: I served as a circuit court judge for over twice as long as my opponent served as a circuit court judge. We went to new judge school together in 2002, and he was appointed by Gov. Jim Doyle in 2004. I think my long term work as a prosecutor has given me a perspective that is unique in this race, in that I am the only candidate who worked together with law enforcement to hold offenders accountable and worked together with victims to get justice for victims. I am an adjunct professor of law, I've taught criminal procedure, I've taught professional responsibility, I have an open invitation to return to the law school to teach any class any time, that's how good my student reviews were. It's quite an honor to have an open invitation to tech any class any time any day. Its also the fact I did work in private practice representing individuals in various civil litigation matters, individuals trying to obtain insurance coverage, individuals who had problem with their contractors, trying to get justice for everyone, whether it was in the criminal area of the law or the civil area of the law. I think I will be very appealing to students and to all voters across this state.
DC: What is your opinion on the level of money spent by interest groups in the race?
MG: As to the level of money spent by interest groups in the election, I have said before I think the voters of this state and the candidates in the race would be best served if they took their money and their interest elsewhere and let the people focus on the candidates and the message of the respective candidates. Let me have the opportunity to just say why I am the better candidate. As the judicial conservative in this race, as one who is going to apply the law and not make it, I am the only candidate in this race who has served not only as a judge, but as a prosecutor. I have insights having worked with victims in the past and giving help to victims rights now, that is simply unique in this race.
DC: How would you describe the nature of the television advertisements shown throughout the race?
MG: We've worked very hard on our campaign, I think we have stayed positive, and we have let the voters know why I'm the better candidate. It's not just on the judicial philosophy, but also on my background and former career as a prosecutor. You have to remember that three-fourths of the sheriffs across this state, both Democrats and Republicans, have endorsed my campaign, over ten times the number of sheriffs who have endorsed my campaign than that of my opponent. This being done in a bipartisan fashion, twice as many Democratic sheriffs has endorsed my campaign than the amount of sheriffs who endorsed my opponents campaign. The vast majority of district attorneys, both Democrats and Republicans, over fifty police chiefs, the Wisconsin Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association and the statewide Fraternal Order of Police, as well as the Wisconsin farm bureau, as well as many other groups have endorsed me.
DC: Do you feel your election would affect the ideological balance of the Supreme Court?
MG: I think its fair to say that any member of the overwhelming majority of law enforcement that publicly support my campaign and all the other groups that have come forward to support me, all they have asked of me is that I give the sort of fair hearing and fair consideration that I would give to any other litigant. It's important for a judge and for a justice, to uphold the law, as is principal the Constitutions of the United States and the state. I think each litigant who appears in front of the court will know they will get a hearing based on the plain language of the Constitution, the plain language of the statute and the prior case precedent. Each case will be judge on a case-by-case basis on its merits and on the plain language of the law.
