2001 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

In September 1998, Governor Tommy Thompson appointed Prosser to a vacant seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.^[1]

While incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court justices had rarely lost re-election in previous elections, unopposed re-elections were also somewhat rare. Of the previous eighteen elections, only five were unopposed races.^[2]

The Constitution of Wisconsin stipulates that early elections full terms can be triggered by a vacancy. The constitution stipulates that it is impermissible for more than one seat to be up for election in the same year. Elections must be moved moved to an earlier year after a vacancy, but only if there is a more immediate year without a scheduled contest.^[3] All supreme court elections are held during the spring elections in early April.^[4] Since there were was no supreme court election scheduled in 2001, but there were elections scheduled in 1999 and 2000, the vacancy moved the election to the next possible date, 2001. This allowed Prosser successor to serve as justice for two years before he would be up for election.