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The1917 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 3, 1907, to elect a justice to theWisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term.Walter C. Owen (theattorney general of Wisconsin) defeated incumbent justiceRoujet D. Marshall. This was only the third instance in the state's history in which an incumbent Supreme Court justice lost an election. Marshall's defeat was largely attributed to a controversial ruling he authored striking down the state's forestry law.
Marshall had held his seat since 1895, when GovernorWilliam Upham appointed him to fill a vacancy on the court.[1] He was thereafter elected to the seat three times, first in thespecial election of1896, being re-elected in the regular elections held in1897 and1907.[2] He faced no opposition in those elections.
Owen defeated Marshall. This was only the third instance in which an incumbent justice lost an election to the tate's supreme court (the previous instances being in1855 and1908). As of 2025[update] this has only occurred five further times (in1947,1958,1967,2008, and2020).[2][3]
Marshall's defeat has been largely attributed to a then-controversial 1915 majority opinion that he had authored regarding the state's Forestry Law (a law championed by the state'sprogressive). Marshall had found that the violated state's constitution. The law had established a state forest preserve and created a state commission tasked withconservation of lands that had been cleared bylumbering. Contrarily, as attorney general Owen had defended the law before the court.[2][1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General election (April 3, 1917) | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Walter C. Owen | 148,324 | 51.66 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Roujet D. Marshall (incumbent) | 138,620 | 48.28 | ||
| write-ins | scattering | 157 | 0.05 | ||
| Plurality | 9,704 | 3.38 | |||
| Total votes | 287,101 | 100 | |||
