CITIZEN BUTLER RIPS WMC

On First Day off Court, Former Justice Mulls Future of Independent Judiciary;
Tells Law Group Gableman Supporters "Bought" Seat on Supreme Court

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

Louis B.Butler Jr. took the robe off his shoulders and got a load off his chest this afternoon, Friday, August 1st, 2008. The now-former Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed the 2008 Annual Meeting & Seminar of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at a luncheon at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee on his first day as a private citizen after serving 16 years as a judge on various courts.
Along with the robe, off went the restrictions of the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct, which generally prohibit judges from publicly commenting on matters that are before the court. As a practical matter, this effectively proscribes judges from saying much about anything, since courts continually deal with myriad complex issues. The purpose of the code is to encourage an "independent, fair and competent judiciary."
And that's exactly what has been threatened in Wisconsin and other states, he said.
He began his speech by quoting such radicals as the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Robert Houghwout Jackson opining on the importance of an independent judiciary.
"Judicial independence equals the freedom to be fair," Butler told the audience of 300. "The biggest threat to an independent judiciary are special interest groups with hidden agendas that have a self-interest in winning cases. Let me tell you my story ..."

2005 DECISIONS DRAW IRE OF WMC

Butler then went on to mention three significant 2005 Supreme Court decisions --
1.) "Big Blue", providing punitive damage awards for the widows of ironworkers killed at a crane collapse during the construction of Miller Park
2.) Overturning Medical Malpractice caps unconstitutionally enacted by the legislature
3.) Finding that lead paint manufacturers could be held liable for knowingly selling a dangerous product.
"The WMC [Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce] decided then that I had to go," Butler said.
"They started a statewide campaign to discredit the court in general and me in particular. The WMC made it a top priority to replace [the retiring] Justice John P. Wilcox and then focused on voting me out of office."
Butler noted that Justices Anne Walsh Bradley and N. Patrick Crooks, who voted with him, were not targeted, "perhaps because they had no criminal defense background. But I could be attacked because I had the audacity to represent criminals at one point in my career. I was attacked for doing what I was supposed to do. What you do every day. ... WMC's attack had to be perfect, so WMC recruited candidates -- the public number is that 7 declined. The real number is more.
"I was Willie Horton. My face was merged with a former client, [in an advertisement] perhaps to give the association that I was black."

CITES "INSIDIOUS" TACTICS OF WMC

Butler also accused his opposition of an "insidious" association the opposition made between Butler and two notorious cases including the murder case of Mark Jensen, accused of killing his wife.

This particularly infuriated Butler, he said, "since the cases were still pending and ethically I could not respond."
Ultimately, he said, "a seat on the court was bought and Justice, in my humble opinion, in Wisconsin, was hindered.... Interest groups will continue to go around the country purchasing judgeships one at a time."

WHAT NEXT?
The Code of Conduct prohibited Butler from seeking employment during the ninety days between his election defeat and the end of his term yesterday. He says he plans to interview for jobs with "a number of firms and organizations. He may be contemplating a move to Madison from his current residence in Milwaukee.
-- Michael Horne