WI judges support Butler 24:1

The JS Online has a handy searchable database for comparing the official endorsements of both Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler and challenger Burnett County Judge Michael Gableman.

In response to Butler's new television ad, Gableman lieutenant Darrin Schmitz says, "A bi-partisan majority of sheriffs and district attorneys have spoken loud and clear that Judge Gableman is their choice for the Court; not Louis Butler. Slick television ads can’t erase a long record of anti-law enforcement decisions and loopholes."

Aside from the latter claim being comically preposterous (par for the course), Schmitz's "bi-partisan majority" can't touch the regard in which Butler is held by his professional peers, Wisconsin judges.

According to the database, Butler's April 1 retention is supported by 146 judges, compared to just six who favor Gableman. That's a ratio of 24:1. I respect law enforcement as much as the next guy, but if the fear — groundless or otherwise — is that Butler's jurisprudence makes their jobs more rigorous by holding their feet to the constitutional fire, then the civil libertarian in me says, so be it.