At a forum for candidates running for Wisconsin Supreme Court, the incumbent accused one of his challengers of slander for repeatedly saying the court is corrupt.

Justice Daniel Kelly responded sharply after Dane County Circuit Judge Jill Karofsky cited a June decision by the Supreme Court that reversed its own 2016 case as an example. The 4-2 decision said the state superintendent of schools must get the governor's approval on changes in education policy.

"Every single time Justice Kelly has the opportunity to rule in favor of the right-wing special interests, for the Republicans, he does it," she said, and "that's why people think there's corruption on our Supreme Court."

After briefly explaining that the overturned case wasn't precedent because none of the opinions in it had more than three votes, Kelly turned to Karofsky and said she'd been using the corruption claim from the start of her campaign.

"That is a disgusting slander and beneath contempt," Kelly said. "I object to it, I'm outraged by it and I categorically reject it."

Karofsky responded by saying voters she's spoken to during the campaign raised the corruption concerns. She again cited Kelly's rulings.

"There is no way the law can always be on their side," she said.

The third candidate, Marquette law professor Ed Fallone, had also disagreed with Kelly's explanation of his approach to legal precedent in general.

"He said he feels if a prior case was wrongly decided, he has an obligation to overturn it," Fallone said, adding that he disagrees. Honoring prior rulings, he said, except in extreme cases of inequality of rights, avoids "reopening political battles."

After Kelly and Karofsky's back-and-forth, Fallone observed, "No one wants to see this on our state's Supreme Court."

Later in the one-hour forum, held at the Milwaukee Bar Association, Kelly challenged the audience to read his opinions since former Gov. Scott Walker appointed him to the court in 2016. He said they would see a solid chain of logic leading to the rulings, which he said have never been based on his personal views or politics.

Karofsky said that "rigorous logic" still gets to a predetermined outcome.

Kelly upbraided her again after he felt her attacks were against other justices who have joined his opinions, specifically Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, who was in the majority on the cases Karofsky called suspect.

"You owe me an apology but I don't think I'll get one because if you didn't have slander, you wouldn't have a campaign," Kelly said. Then he demanded Karofsky apologize to Roggensack "right now."

"Justice Kelly," she said, "I'm not going to be bullied by you."

Kelly then told the audience, "that tells you everything you need to know about Jill Karofsky."

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In his closing statement, Fallone again referenced the other candidates' feud. He said voters he talks with thank him for keeping politics out of his campaign and focusing on his own principles.

Karofsky said she's running to "get this court back on track" and cited her experience as a prosecutor and trial judge, her values and "energy of never, ever backing down."

Kelly told the audience — which included those watching online via WisconsinEye — that he's been honored to serve on the court and asked, "Have I been a faithful servant?" in applying the law.

The primary election is Feb. 18. The two top vote-getters will appear on the April 7 ballot.

Contact Bruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187 or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.