Wisconsin Judgment Day, the Sequel

Summary
In this second of our "Court Watch" series, we return to what's become a racially charged campaign in Wisconsin to replace Louis Butler, the only black justice on the state Supreme Court, with a white, business-backed lower court judge, Mike Gableman. We look at two ads that attack Butler and find both to be misleading.

An ad sponsored by Gableman's campaign features images of Butler's face next to that of a black man convicted of rape, and it's being compared to the Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential campaign. This ad falsely implies that Butler was responsible for freeing the rapist and allowing him to commit another sexual assault. Actually, Butler failed to win the man's release (while representing him as a public defender). The rapist served his sentence and didn't commit his next crime until he had been paroled.

A second ad, sponsored by a business trade group, says Butler "almost jeopardized" a murder prosecution. But in fact, Butler was the sole dissenter in a 6-1 verdict. The ad also says Butler focused on "needless technicalities," when the case involves a question of constitutional rights so important that the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the subject this spring.
We also lay out the facts behind a radio ad by a liberal group attacking Gableman. We leave it to our readers to judge whether or not those facts add up to a political "scandal" as the ad claims.

Analysis
The Gableman ad began airing March 14. The spot by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce started running this week, as did a radio ad by the Greater Wisconsin Committee.

In Wisconsin, judges don't run with political party labels attached. They're officially nonpartisan. However, it's useful to know that Butler was appointed by a Democratic governor, while Gableman was picked by a Republican.

Loophole Louie?
Gableman's ad opens in black-and-white as a female narrator intones that "shadowy special interests supporting Louis Butler" are attacking Gableman. She doesn't tell us who they are or what they're saying, but whatever it is, "It's not true," she claims, as we're shown a grainy photo of Butler.