HARLAN RICHARDS

March 13, 2016

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is an Admitted Felon

A recent Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel article exposed the fact that when Justice Bradley was an attorney, she represented an ex-boyfriend in family court. I have not read the article so my information is second-hand (the most effective way to keep prisoners powerless is to deny them access to information—which is why a Republican legislature took the open records law away form us back in the 1990s). What I have heard is that Justice Bradley had an extramarital affair with a man and subsequently acted as his attorney. Whether it was ethical to represent him under these circumstance was the gist of the article. I think the author missed the real issue.

Adultery is still illegal in Wisconsin. Sec. 944.16, Wis. Stats., states:
"Whoever does either of the following is guilty of a Class I felony:
(1) A married person who has sexual intercourse with a person not the married spouse; or
(2) A person who has sexual intercourse with a person who is married to another."

The penalty is up to a $10,000 fine and 3 1/2 years in prison."

Democrats in the state legislature have tried numerous times since the 1970s to repeal the law against adultery and have been blocked by Republicans. The crime is seldom prosecuted, and when it is, there is usually an ulterior motive which has nothing to do with the adultery.

Justice Bradley has campaigned on her promise to enforce the law as it is written. If a hapless defendant came before her with an adultery conviction, she would staunchly uphold the law, regardless of its fairness or relevance.

But when it comes to her personal life, it is okay to commit a felony and still sit as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice because she is a darling of the Conservative right. Right-wing ideologues like her do not believe the law applies to them. Laws are for poor people and minorities, not the rich and their lackeys. Had she been a so-called Liberal candidate, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) would be spending millions of dollars right now smearing her as a felon. And they wouldn't even need her own admission that she committed a felony. Does anyone remember what WMC did to Justice Louis B. Butler?