Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly said his opponent is slandering him.
In a television interview aired Sunday, Kelly responded to statements by Dane County Judge Jill Karofsky that Kelly predetermines the outcome of cases before they even reach the courtroom.
“I think it’s an ugly slander. And it’s a slander because it’s a lie. And it’s simply not true,” Kelly said on “UPFRONT,” produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com.
Kelly and Karofsky will face off in the April 7 election for a 10-year term on the Supreme Court.
He was appointed to the court by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2016.
Kelly said he has told Karofsky in person that her statements are slanderous.
He said he puts his political preferences aside when he considers cases.
“Our responsibility though, when we put on the robe, is to put those things aside,” he said.
“We all walk in to the courtroom with our political values and beliefs, but once you hit that threshold, your responsibility is to set it all aside and simply do the work of the court, and that’s just apply the law as it is, not as we might wish it to be,” Kelly said.
Pedersen also asked Kelly about the fundraiser he held at a Brookfield shooting range one day after the deadly shooting rampage at the Molson Coors brewery in Milwaukee.