The College Democrats hosted an early voting event with Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Judge Lisa Neubauer to learn more about her platform before walking to Memorial Union to cast their early votes for the general election Monday.
The liberal-backed candidate, running against Judge Brian Hagedorn who has been ousted for being outwardly conservative, spoke about her values and qualifications in front of a crowd at Valentia Coffee.
“We chose to bring in Neubauer because she has been endorsed by nearly every judge in the state,” said Adam Fearing, a sophomore with the College Democrats. “She also has a record of being a very impartial judge. And she doesn’t have the same record of hateful rhetoric as her opponent.”
Judge Neubauer shared a personal story of her inspiration to become involved within the courts system.
In 1978, Judge Neubauer was 21 years old when she and some friends travelled to Chicago for a Talking Heads concert. As they were walking along the street, they noticed every car had a parking ticket. One of her friends picked up a ticket, twirled it around, and then put it back.
A moment later, a police officer arrested her friend for disorderly conduct.
Once at the police station and waiting for her friend’s release, Judge Neubauer was strip searched, even though she had committed no crime and was not under arrest.
“I realized in a very personal way how important the courts are in protecting people’s rights. The whole thing was shocking and scary. It was very clear to me that this was a violation of my constitutional rights, a violation of my civil rights, and I wasn’t going to be quiet about it,” said Judge Neubauer.
After that encounter, Judge Neubauer decided to file a claim against the Chicago Police. She was met with an Chicago officer who insisted it was simply policy and no wrong had been done.
But Judge Neubauer persisted, contacting the American Civil Liberties Union, who took her case. She became Jane Doe number one in the lawsuit.
The ACLU estimated that the strip search impacted approximately 10,000 women across the country. Judge Neubauer spoke of a wife of Federal District judge, a sit-down protester and two nuns who had all been strip searched in Chicago around that same time period.
This lawsuit forced the Chicago Police Department to change their policies, and this shift quickly spread into Illinois, Wisconsin, and across the country.
“To me, it was a huge example of how important it is that we have our courts to be there to protect our rights when the other two branches get out of sync. And so that was a big impetus for me to decide to go to law school,” Judge Neubauer said.
To close the event, Judge Neubauer urged UW-Madison students and young people alike to go out and vote in this upcoming election.
She believes it is critical to mobilize the young vote because spring races are notorious for having very low turnouts.
Leading up to the April 2 election the candidate will continue to speak across Wisconsin.
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