State Supreme Court Justice Patrick Crooks said tonight that public financing is only part of the solution to fixing what ails judicial elections in Wisconsin.
Crooks, who ran unopposed in 2006 for a second 10-year term on the stateâ??s high court, said among the reforms heâ??d like to see is a move of judicial elections from their traditional April date to the fall election to draw more public interest.
â??We should tie these races to those races where there is a larger turnout of voters,â? Crooks said, calling the 19 percent turnout for the Supreme Court election this April â??something we should all be ashamed of.â?
Crooks made his remarks at a discussion titled â??Justice, Money & Politicsâ? at the UW-Madison Law School. Crooks took part in a panel that included his fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, Wisconsin State Journal editorial page editor Scott Milfred, and Wisconsin Democracy Campaign executive director Mike McCabe.