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 Crooks: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% Fine: 50–60% | |||||||||||||
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The1996 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on March 19, 1996, to elect a justice to theWisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice, Chief JusticeRoland B. Day, retired after 22 years on the court.[1]Wisconsin circuit court judgeN. Patrick Crooks won the election, defeatingWisconsin Court of Appeals judgeRalph Adam Fine in the general election.
While Wisconsin typically holds its spring elections in early April, the 1996 spring general election was held on March 19. This is because in March 1995, GovernorTommy Thompson signed into law a bill moving both the 1996 spring general election andthe state's presidential primaries from April 2 to March 19 in order to align its primary with theIllinois,Michigan, andOhio primaries held on that day. This was done in hopes that Wisconsin can join these fellow Midwestern states in a so-called "Big Ten primary" held shortly-following the southernSuper Tuesday in the major party primary calendars.[2]
The 1995 and 1996 elections were the fourth instance in the court's history in which two consecutive elections were for open seats (without anincumbent running).[a]
Crooks supported the idea of creating a business court in the state. He also believed that the state's legal system needed to focus more on juvenile crime, and was a supporter oftruth in sentencing laws.[4] Fine criticized the court for issue too many unanimous and near-unanimous decisions, believing that this indicated a lack of intellectual debate on the court about cases that were being heard. Fine also criticized the court as being lazy, arguing that the 75 cases it had issued in its previous term was too few. Fine was a critic ofplea bargains and supported allowing judge substitution on demand (without cause).[4]
After Crooks and Fine both advanced past the seven-candidate primary, Crooks hiredScott Jenson (theRepublican majority leader of theState Assembly) to be hiscampaign manager. Fine filed a complaint with the state Ethics Board over this, accusing Jensen of utilizing his public office to secure financial gain. Fine focused his general election campaign criticisms on Crooks' acceptance of campaign contributions fromspecial interests, and pledged that (in contrast) he would not be accepting campaign contributions or endorsements from special interests. He also questioned whether Crooks could be a neutral justice on matters involved the state legislature (due to Jensen's role in his campaign) or special interests (due to campaign contributions). Crooks argued that he and his campaign was not beholden to others because he enjoyed a broad base of support from many different groups and individuals, including groups that often came into political conflict with each other. Claiming he had abig tent of support, Crooks remarked, "we are receiving support from all sides".[4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Election, February 6, 1996 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | N. Patrick Crooks | 84,223 | 27.03 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Ralph Adam Fine | 50,801 | 16.31 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Ted E. Wedemeyer Jr. | 44,988 | 14.44 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Lawrence J. Bugge | 44,020 | 14.13 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Harold Vernon Froehlich | 34,632 | 11.12 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Stanley A. Miller | 28,047 | 9.00 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Charles B. Schudson | 24,853 | 7.98 | ||
| Total votes | 311,564 | 100 | |||
| General Election, March 19, 1996 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | N. Patrick Crooks | 520,594 | 59.07 | ||
| Nonpartisan | Ralph Adam Fine | 360,686 | 40.93 | ||
| Total votes | 881,280 | 100 | -6.12 | ||
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