Justice David Prosser gives a thumbs-up to Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg before their debate for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday at the Marquette University Law School. Credit: Benny Sieu

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In a further sign of acrimony on the state's highest court, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser said Monday that discord among the seven justices would dissipate with his election next month because some of his fellow jurists don't want him re-elected.

Prosser made the declaration during a debate at Marquette University with his opponent, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg.

In response to a question from former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske about what he would do to boost collegiality on the Supreme Court, Prosser said getting re-elected to another 10-year term would lessen the animosity among the deeply divided court.

"Some people on the court don't want me elected," Prosser said.

Kloppenburg said it would be difficult for the Supreme Court to come together if Prosser was re-elected because he has "publicly castigated" other justices.

"Losing your temper does not solve problems," Kloppenburg said.

Prosser recently acknowledged that he called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a "bitch" behind closed doors and threatened to "destroy her" more than a year ago when the court split over removing fellow Justice Michael Gableman from a criminal case as he faced an ethics allegation.

Prosser said he's not the source of the conflict on the Supreme Court. He has previously said the court has formed factions for and against Abrahamson.

Shortly after the candidates smiled and posed for photos together, Monday night's debate quickly turned personal and snippy. Kloppenburg reiterated her campaign theme that new blood is needed on the divided court, saying it doesn't help to have justices split into two blocs and she could help move them away from partisan quarrels. Prosser repeated his campaign stance that 12 years on the Supreme Court gives him an advantage in experience.

In the past, Supreme Court elections have not been partisan affairs. Not so in recent elections and particularly this year. The bitter fight over collective bargaining for public employees has pitted Republicans against Democrats in the state Legislature in a battle that could end up being decided by the state Supreme Court.

In recent weeks the Supreme Court election has been portrayed as a referendum on Gov. Scott Walker's decision to end most collective bargaining for most of the state's public workers. In effect, a Prosser election defeat would be viewed as a victory for unions.

Partisan elements to the race first developed in December when Prosser's campaign manager released a statement saying Prosser would be a complement to the Walker administration. Prosser said he didn't see the statement before it was released and disavowed it. Kloppenburg replied that Prosser did not disavow the comment until recently.

That prompted Prosser to criticize comments made by people on Kloppenburg's Facebook page regarding Walker's budget-repair bill.

Prosser quoted one of the Facebook comments: "Stop the turd, vote Kloppenburg."

"Now, am I the turd?" Prosser said. "That's totally inappropriate."

Kloppenburg said she's not responsible for postings by other people on her campaign's Facebook page.

Both candidates said they could see no reason that they would need to recuse themselves from deciding a court case over the recent legislative decision regarding collective bargaining.

Prosser was appointed to the state Supreme Court in 1998 and elected to a 10-year term in 2001. He served in the Assembly as a Republican representing the Appleton area from 1979 to 1996.

Kloppenburg has been a litigator and prosecutor at the state Department of Justice since 1989. She led the environmental protection unit for a decade.

Prosser and Kloppenburg each are accepting tax dollars under a new public financing law, receiving $100,000 for their primary campaigns and $300,000 more for the general election. Prosser said the taxpayer dollars mean candidates don't have to be actively involved in fundraising, but the law doesn't discourage special interests from pouring money into the campaign, and he castigated his opponent by saying she was working with special interest groups to discredit him.

In a question about their experience, Prosser said Kloppenburg "is incredibly envious of my record" of handling criminal cases as Outagamie County district attorney and his years serving in the Assembly and state Supreme Court. He said Kloppenburg's law career has been spent mostly on environmental litigation like deciding the width and length of docks.

Kloppenburg responded that she has prosecuted companies that "spew poisons" into the state's air and water.

"I have improved the quality of life for communities around the state," Kloppenburg said.

The election is April 5.

The State Supreme Court candidate debate will be aired Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Channel 10.2 and at 10:30 p.m. on Channel 36.