Flurry of negative ads hit the air in final days of campaign
(Published Thursday, March 29, 2007 09:46:44 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Scott Bauer Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Negative TV ads accusing one candidate for the state Supreme Court of being weak on sex offenders and the other with wanting to line her husband's pockets hit the airwaves this week just days before the election.
Annette Ziegler, a Washington County circuit judge, released two ads this week. One said her opponent, Madison attorney Linda Clifford, could rule on cases that would benefit her husband, a prominent trial attorney who represents people injured in accidents and harmed by medical errors.
The other Ziegler ad responds to two from the Greater Wisconsin Committee, an independent group generally aligned with Democratic candidates. The group criticized Ziegler for a 1999 ruling in which she stayed a 25-year prison sentence for a man convicted of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter for years.
Ziegler gave the man one year in county jail and 20 years of probation, despite requests from the prosecutor for up to 30 years in prison and the defense attorney's suggestion of five to seven years.
"How would you rule?" the narrator of the ad asks.
A second ad follows the same format, questioning a 1998 Ziegler ruling in which she sentenced a man found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy more than 100 times to probation.
Ziegler's response ad touts her support from a majority of the state's sheriffs and district attorneys as well as long prison sentences she has given other offenders.
"Judge Ziegler soft on crime? No way," the narrator says.
Ziegler's campaign spokesman Mark Graul defended her actions and provided a campaign analysis that shows Ziegler's median sentence in cases involving repeated sexual assault of a child was 20 years, compared to a median 10 years from all state judges. The analysis was based on figures from the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission and the state director of courts.
The election is Tuesday.
The Ziegler ad questioning how Clifford would handle cases involving her husband says, "She could actually help her husband pocket millions."
The ad criticizes Clifford's support of a 2005 state Supreme Court ruling that struck down the state's $350,000 cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, in medical malpractice cases. Clifford has said that limit was insufficient.
Clifford's spokeswoman Nicholl Caruso said the ad was based on misleading information. Caruso said Clifford would consult with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission for guidance on handling any possible conflict and comply with the code of conduct.
Clifford also has promised to recuse herself from any case involving her husband, Keith Clifford, or his law firm, Clifford & Raihala in Madison.
But Graul said Clifford could help her husband by ruling in other cases in ways that raise the cap on damages that could be awarded in cases he handles.
Both of the Ziegler ads started running statewide on Tuesday, Graul said.
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce also started running a new ad this week, highlighting the fact that Clifford has never served as a judge.
Mike McCabe of the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign predicted the high volume of ads will continue through election day.
"I don't think this will do anything for the court's reputation," McCabe said. "It will only serve to make people more cynical and erode public confidence in the fairness and impartiality in our courts."
Also Wednesday, nine freshman Democratic state representatives introduced a bill that would require independent groups that run ads within 60 days of an election to register with the state and disclose their sources of funding.
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle called on lawmakers in his State of the State address to pass such a law, and Democrats have introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
Special interest groups have spent $1.7 million in the race so far, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has estimated, while the candidates reported spending a combined $1.4 million to make it the most expensive race for the high court in Wisconsin history.
