Ernst-Ulrich Franzen

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Wisconsin Supreme Court handed secrecy another victory Tuesday when it declined to reveal how justices had voted in a case involving a business dispute between owners of a limited liability corporation. It's a minor victory perhaps but it's still part of a disturbing trend from a court that doesn't seem to place sufficient value on the public's right to know.

The justices reached a tie vote in the case with the newest member, Daniel Kelly, not participating. But the one-sentence ruling didn't say how the justices voted. In a brief concurring opinion, Justice Shirley Abrahamson wrote that it was the first time since 1979 that the court did not divulge where each justice stood in the tie, the Journal Sentinel's Bruce Vielmetti reported. From 1885 to 1979, the names and votes of the justices were revealed in 118 tie cases and only withheld in 26 deadlocked cases from 1849 to 1979.

RELATED: Shirley Abrahamson questions secret tie vote at Wisconsin Supreme Court

"I believe the court should explain why the voting information is revealed in a particular case and in another it is not," Abrahamson wrote, while noting that high courts in different states vary in their practices and that the U.S. Supreme Court does not delineate the votes in ties.

She's right. The justices should explain their policy. But beyond that, how justices vote is a matter of public interest, and votes always should be revealed, tie vote or not. How else can the public judge a justice's record on the court?

That's my take. What do you think?