“He served for a long and honorable time on the court and earned respect as a reasonable jurist, but much of that has been overshadowed by his personal interactions with his colleagues in more recent years,” said Fallone. “Observers who watch the Wisconsin Supreme Court have long recognized that Justice Prosser often saw himself as in opposition to Justice Abrahamson ... I think that personality clash has led some people to view (the court) in partisan overtones.”

Fallone also said despite being categorized as part of the court’s conservative majority, Prosser could be unpredictable.

“Justice Prosser was often viewed as a justice who would sometimes surprise in terms of where he would come down on issues and sometimes viewed as a justice the liberal wing of the court could win to their argument,” said Fallone. “He certainly, for much of his earlier career, was seen as someone who was perhaps more unpredictable and in the middle in terms of his approach to the law, but I think in more recent years with interpersonal problems on the court, that became much less frequent.”

Before being elected to the high court, Prosser also served in the state Assembly from 1978 through 1996, during which he served two years as Assembly Speaker.