Wisconsin court candidate won’t hear Democrats’ lawsuits

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Democrats’ choice in a high-stakes Wisconsin Supreme Court race says she would not hear cases brought by the Wisconsin Democratic Party because it has donated $2.5 million to her campaign. But her Republican-backed opponent would not make a similar pledge for cases brought by the GOP. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz faces Republican-backed candidate Dan Kelly in the April 4 election, with majority control of the state’s highest court at stake. The court is expected to hear a challenge to Wisconsin’s 1849 law banning abortion, and liberals have promised to put a case before the court that would allow it to overturn Republican-drawn legislative districts.