Judgment Day in Wisconsin

Further, Farrow's claim that Butler "provided the deciding vote" on the case distorts the truth. The same could be said for any of the four justices who were in the majority.

The Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee, a watchdog group set up in the wake of last year's all-out brawl over a seat on the state's high court, voiced disapproval of the Farrow letter, saying its assertion about Brown's release was "misleading" and calling on Gableman to either "provid[e] supporting evidence" or "retract the statement and correct the public record."

Gableman, whose campaign authorized and paid for the Farrow letter, did neither.

"It was just a matter of random chance that [Brown] remained incarcerated," Gableman said at an appearance with Butler on Feb. 25.  It's unclear what he meant by that.

Leaps of Ethical Logic
Gableman has taken some incoming fire as well. An ad run by the liberal Greater Wisconsin Committee lists a set of events leading up to Gableman's 2002 appointment as Burnett County circuit judge by then-Acting Gov. Scott McCallum. The ad finishes off with this scolding from the narrator: "Tell Mike Gableman we need higher ethical standards for our judges." Gableman and McCallum are both portrayed as bobble-head dolls.

Greater Wisconsin Committee TV Ad:  "Meet Gableman"
Narrator: Meet Mike Gableman.

He wanted to be a judge. But he had a few problems.
Burnett County needed a judge. But Gableman lived 290 miles away.

An independent panel recommended two finalists – but he didn't make the list. He even missed the application deadline.

But weeks before the selection, Gableman hosted a fundraiser for Gov. Scott McCallum and gave him $1,250.

Guess who McCallum picked?
Gableman.

Tell Mike Gableman we need higher ethical standards for our judges.

This ad is chock-full of facts, but they don't necessarily lead to the conclusion implied by the closing line, that Gableman's appointment was unethical.