Butler wins in court of Milwaukee lawyers

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It should come as no surprise that Justice Louis Butler, a former Milwaukee judge, would fare better than his Burnett County challenger, Michael Gableman, when reviewed by Milwaukee lawyers. What is surprising is the margin by which Butler was identified as “qualified,” compared with Gableman in the Milwaukee Bar Association’s Judicial Poll, released this afternoon.

Butler came out with 429 votes for “qualified” and 52 for “not qualified.” Gableman only received 119 votes for “qualified” and 198 for “not qualified.” Another 195 MBA members had no opinion about Gableman; 45 had no opinion about Butler.

The MBA, the state’s largest voluntary bar association, annually polls members about the qualifications of judicial candidates. This year, ballots went out to 2,540 members and 643 responded by the March 17 deadline.

It’s also not surprising that Butler’s campaign wasted no time firing off a press release touting the results.

Campaign spokesman Sachin Chheda issued the following statement, “These results make crystal clear which candidate has the qualifications, experience and integrity necessary to serve the people of Wisconsin on the Supreme Court. A vast majority of members of the Milwaukee Bar who expressed an opinion – 89 percent – said that Justice Butler is qualified to serve. Only 38 percent said the same about Michael Gableman.”

Gableman campaign spokesman Darrin Schmitz said given that Butler has a long history in Milwaukee's legal community, it was not surprising to see that he did better in the MBA's poll. However, he does not see that affecting the Burnett County judge's campaign. Schmitz said he believed Gableman's strong support from sheriffs and district attorneys will be a deciding factor.

"We think that will ultimately make the difference in the race," Schmitz said.

In the only other contested judicial race in Milwaukee, Court Commissioner Rebecca Dallet received 292 votes identifying her as “qualified” for Branch 40 of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Challenger Jeffrey Norman, an attorney and Milwaukee Police detective, received 83 votes for “qualified.” Dallet and Norman received 24 and 114 “not qualified” votes, respectively.