Wisconsin will hold an election on April 5, 2011. The most important race on the ballot is the election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court currently held by Justice David T. Prosser.

Justice Prosser’s challenger is environmental assistant attorney general, JoAnne Kloppenburg. While races for the Wisconsin Supreme Court are non-partisan, which groups support the candidates can provide an indicator of how that person may decide cases.

Justice Prosser has a long track record of deciding cases, which gives voters a clear view of his jurisprudential philosophy. Kloppenburg, on the other hand, has never been a judge. Therefore, which groups support her may ultimately provide voters more information about her background and potential jurisprudential philosophy.

Justice David T. Prosser, Jr.

Justice Prosser has a broad range of support, as evidenced by those groups that have endorsed him on his campaign website. His campaign chairs are former Democratic Governor Patrick Lucey and former Republican Governor Tommy G. Thompson.

Justice Prosser has received broad support from the law enforcement community throughout the state, including sheriffs and the Milwaukee Police Association. In addition, Justice Prosser has received support from district attorneys and judges, including former Justice Jon Wilcox.

Also supporting Justice Prosser are former State Bar presidents. Just recently, the Milwaukee Bar Association’s members voted by a nearly 3-1 margin in favor of Justice Prosser as the more qualified person for the position compared to Kloppenburg.

Justice Prosser received the endorsement of newspapers during the general election, including the state’s largest, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

JoAnne Kloppenburg

JoAnne Kloppenburg is running a campaign painting her as an independent. To prove this independence, Kloppenburg lists mainly individual people who have endorsed her, with a few elected officials, such as Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.

What her campaign website does not tell you are the numerous interest groups that have supported her campaign. According to MediaTrackers.org, Kloppenburg has support of officials representing a number of liberal environmental groups, including Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Clean Wisconsin, Midwest Environmental Justice Organization, and 1000 Friends of Wisconsin.

Other major supporters are individual plaintiffs’ attorneys that sit on the Wisconsin Association for Justice’s board, including current president J. Michael End, past-president Christine Bremer Muggli, and Dan Rottier, partner of the biggest plaintiffs’ attorney firm in the state, Habush, Habush, & Rottier.