Experts: Dark money taints judicial elections, erodes trust in courts Share:
Dark money killed Justice Louis Butlerâs career. At least, thatâs how he tells it.
Butler was a trailblazer in Wisconsinâs legal community â the first Black justice on the state supreme court. He was a public defender in Milwaukee when he started climbing the judicial ladder. First, an appointment to municipal court. Then, election to county court. Finally, Butler was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2004.
But it didnât last. Four years later, in 2008, Butler faced reelection â and lost. He was the first sitting Wisconsin Supreme Court justice to lose re-election since 1967.