How best to judge the judges?

Judging a judge can be difficult. Voters in Wisconsin will be heading to the polls again soon to vote for an open seat on the state’s Supreme Court. Four candidates, two Republicans and two Democrats, are running in the April election. This week, the candidates took part in a forum hosted by WisPolitics.com where they were asked their views on a variety of issues. Often times, those running for the Supreme Court want media attention, but won’t say how they may vote on specific issues. When I was a young reporter at WIZM in the early 90’s, I remember interviewing a woman running for the high court, and it frustrated me she refused to answer questions involving issues she may hear cases about. It seemed she was trying to avoid answering a question. But at the WisPolitics forum, two of the judicial candidates didn’t hold back about their feeling on important issues. One candidate, addressing the issue of Wisconsin’s legislative maps, calling them “absolutely, positively rigged.” I’m not sure if I prefer Supreme Court candidates avoiding addressing the issues when trying to get elected, or telling us how they think about issues they may have to resolve. Clamming up or spilling their guts?  It can be hard to judge.