Bruce Thompson, the Data Wonk, writes at UrbanMilwaukee on how judges associated with the Federalist Society are gaining prominence.
Although five of the seven Wisconsin Supreme Court justices are conservative, two recent arrivals are particularly associated with the Federalist Society and other right-wing organizations. Daniel Kelly is a member of The Federalist Society and the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), among others.
Rebecca Bradley served as president of the Milwaukee Federalist Society chapter and participated in the Thomas More Society and the Republican National Lawyers Association. When applying for judicial appointments, she listed four references including Kelly, Rick Esenberg the head of WILL, and Justice Annette Ziegler. The connections start to look pretty cozy.
The late Justice Scalia is often listed by Federalist Society members as their most admired justice. It is generally agreed, however, that he was less influential than he might have been because he couldn’t resist belittling his colleagues for disagreeing with him.