Anonymous sources from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Wisconsin State Journal this week stated that President Bush has selected Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Diane Sykes to fill an open seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
President Bush has not appointed anyone at this time, but rumors of Sykes' appointment have the people of Wisconsin wondering what will happen to their Supreme Court if she is picked.
Currently the Wisconsin Supreme Court has a 5-2 conservative bent, and if Sykes is picked for the circuit court, it would affect the Wisconsin Supreme Court, according to Frank Harris, chair of the UW-Madison College Republicans.
\This will obviously end up hurting the conservative majority, in the sense that Governor Doyle will appoint the next member, and obviously he is not going to appoint a conservative, but a liberal,"" Harris said.
State Sen. Robert Welch, R-Redgranite, said Sykes has high chances of being appointed. He said Sykes is a valuable member on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, making her a great choice for the appeals court.
""It is kind of a bittersweet moment, because I am very happy for Diane Sykes and the president, because he has made an excellent selection,"" Welch said.
""The bitter part is that Jim Doyle will be able to appoint the next Supreme Court Justice if she is confirmed, and a number of us are very concerned about who he might pick, and what that would do for the balance of power in the court,"" he added.
If Sykes gets appointed to the appeals court before Dec. 1, then the person who is appointed by the governor to replace her on the Supreme Court will have to run for re-election in April 2004, according Seth Bosseli, a spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
If the appointment is not approved by the senate until after Dec. 1, then the person will not have to run again until 2008, Bosseli said.
Analysts said Sykes' appointment would not be controversial, as was the case of Miguel Estrada, a Bush appointee to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.
Miguel was controversial to Democrats because of his conservative views, but this is not a concern with Sykes, according to UW-Madison political science Professor Dennis Dresang.
He added that one of the main issues with Estrada was that he and the White House refused to produce documents that were standard submission, and he does not know why Sykes would refuse to do that.
