No. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, one of four candidates running for Wisconsin Supreme Court, has sentenced no more than 3,827 defendants in felony, misdemeanor and traffic cases.
Author Archives: Tom Kertscher / Wisconsin Watch
Tom Kertscher joined as a Wisconsin Watch fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who has worked as a self-employed journalist since 2019. His gigs include contributing writer for PolitiFact and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.
Posted inFact briefs
Would a new federal rule on guns make millions of Americans ‘potential criminals overnight?’
No. The federal government did adopt a new rule reclassifying guns with “stabilizing devices” as rifles.
Posted inFact briefs
Did a Wisconsin judge allow a wrongful death lawsuit against Kyle Rittenhouse to proceed?
Yes. A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled Feb. 2, 2023 that a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Kyle Rittenhouse and Kenosha police and sheriff’s officials can proceed.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly say that supporting same-sex marriage ‘robs marriage of any meaning?’
Yes. In 2016, Daniel Kelly applied for a vacancy on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Posted inFact briefs
Would a proposed flat tax give Wisconsin taxpayers earning more than $1 million a year a $100,000 tax cut?
Yes. The Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate recently proposed a flat tax that would reap annual savings for millionaires in excess of $100,000.
Posted inFact briefs
In 175 years, has Wisconsin ever elected an African-American justice to the state’s Supreme Court?
No. One African-American person, Louis Butler Jr., has served as a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice since Wisconsin became a state in 1848.
Posted inFact briefs
Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz identify as a ‘progressive’ on certain issues?
Yes. In response to a question about being called progressive, Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz replied:
“In regard to the progressive label, I embrace that, when it comes to issues such as gerrymandering, when we talk about the maps, when we talk about marriage equality, when we talk about women’s rights and women’s rights to choose.”
Posted inFact briefs
Did a Wisconsin election official say he’s ‘proud’ of depressed voter turnout in Milwaukee?
Yes. Robert Spindell, the Vice Chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, wrote in an email,
“We can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.”
Posted inFact briefs
Can TikTok track a user’s location?
Yes. TikTok, the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform, collects location information on its users, which now total over one billion.