Wis. Supreme Court Candidate Koschnick Believes the First Amendment Allows for Breaking Law!

I have never seen anything like this. Wisconsin has the most unqualified, philosophically right wing candidate for our Supreme Court.

A self described judicial conservative, and a Constitutional constructionist, Judge Randy Koschnick has leveled the label "liberal activist" at his opponent Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson at every opportunity. Beside the coded nature of his rhetoric to potential voters, Attila the Hun would be considered liberal when compared with the extremist beliefs Koschnick has held over his lifetime(Search this site for all the other Koschnick details).

The WPT show Here and Now featured the next video clip, edited for time, on a decision Koschnick made about a computer hacking/suicide case set to go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court soon. It's amazing to watch Koschnick's arrogant authoritarian attitude at the reporters question. Lets go down the rabbit hole...



Here are the details:

Jefferson Cty. EMS Director Mark Fisher committed suicide by blowing himself up in his home after revelations came out that he was having an affair. It was EMT Christopher Baron who decided to go after Fisher, allegedly hacked into Fisher's work computer and obtaining incriminating emails of the affair. He sent the illegally obtained emails out to 10 other individuals. Police charged Baron with felony identity theft. In his defense, Baron claimed a first amendment right to criticize a public official. Koschnick agreed, and dismissed the case. That's right, Koschnick determined that the First Amendment trumped the identity theft law. For Koschnick, the felony identity theft law was a small matter that was never addressed word for word in the Constitution, so out it went.

The Wisconsin Appeals Court reversed Koschnick's decision thank god, writing: "Wisconsin statutes are replete with provisions that criminalize conduct that may otherwise be constitutionally protected if that conduct is carried out in an unlawful manner."

Baron has appealed his case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. I'll keep you updated on the Courts final decision on Koschnick's first amendment right to break the law ruling.

Note: I thought this letter to the editor in the Wisconsin State Journal summed up my own feeling on Koschnick's non-conservative "judicial conservativism:"

"The opponent (Koschnick) touts this as some form of superior judicial philosophy, but fails to acknowledge that it's actually just another form of activism."- P. Klein, Madison