The Sconi

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly recently spoke out on the court’s power in a candidate forum. 

His campaign assures that “when it comes to the powers invested in the three branches of government, Justice Daniel Kelly knows who is in charge. It's you.”

“I understand that all of the authority to create and maintain governments in the state of Wisconsin comes from, well, you. We, the people of Wisconsin,” Kelly posted on Facebook. “And it comes to us only as a loan. And that loan is mediated by the Constitution that the people (of) Wisconsin decided to create and maintain.” 

Kelly vowed to uphold the Constitution as written.

He was previously a justice on the state Supreme Court and his website notes that he “has been a consistent voice for judicial conservatism in Wisconsin.”

“Justice Daniel Kelly is a judicial constitutionalist who has dedicated a lifetime to the law,” according to his website. “He served on the Wisconsin Supreme Court from 2016 to 2020, a tenure marked by his rigorous scholarship, judicial humility and an unwavering commitment to the rule of law. The scores of opinions authored by Justice Kelly during his service on the Supreme Court stand as witnesses to his commitment to our constitution and the rule of law.”

Kelly has years of experience as a litigator, law clerk and briefly as a special prosecutor. 

"He’s had experience protecting the smooth functioning of the free market, defending student speech on campus and representing religious organizations’ rights to free speech,” according to his website.

Since leaving the bench in 2020, Kelly has been a member of the Institute for Reforming Government. The group is heavily focused on streamlining government so it better represents and does not stand in the way of the governed. 

“The Institute for Reforming Government’s main focus will be to remove the onerous barriers and red tape separating the individual from an efficient and functioning government,” the Institute for Reforming Government website says. “Be it local, state or federal governance, it is the mission of the Institute for Reforming Government to encourage, educate and inform people about all levels of government, based on what has worked in states across the country.”