1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

none July 2025 March 2026 1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election Wisconsin presidential no 1963 1965 April 7, 1964 Horace W. Wilkie (Wisconsin Supreme Court justice) 1960s portrait.jpg Horace W. Wilkie c0c0c0 556,639 53.20% Howard M. Boyle (Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate) portrait photograph, circa 1965.jpg Howard H. Boyle Jr. c0c0c0 489,703 46.80% 250px File:1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election results.svg Wilkie: #51C2C2 50–60% #2AACAC 60–70% #009696 70–80%Boyle: #FF9A50 50–60% #EE8E50 60–70% #B98A35 80–90% Justice Horace W. Wilkie Horace W. Wilkie 1955 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1955 1974 Wisconsin Supreme Court election 1974 The 1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election was held on Tuesday, April 7, 1964, to elect a justice to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a ten-year term. The incumbent justice Horace W. Wilkie won re-election over challenger Howard H. Boyle Jr. Prior to the general election, a third candidate, Harry E. Larsen, was eliminated in a primary election held on March 10. Boyle centered his candidacy on castigating Wilkie for joining the majority in the McCauley v. Tropic of Cancer ruling of early 1964, in which the court had held that the novel Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller was not legally obscene, an outcome that had been very unpopular with the public. Boyle's decision to campaign in this manner attracted criticism accusing him of acting in violation of canon 30 of the American Bar Association's Canons of Judicial Ethics. Boyle's performance in the primary and general elections was unexpectedly competitive against Wilkie, who had originally been expected to have an easy re-election. Background Wilkie had been appointed to the court in 1962 by Governor Gaylord A. Nelson. The 1964 election was his first election to retain his judgeship.Justice Horace W. Wilkie https://www.wicourts.gov/courts/supreme/justices/retired/wilkie.htm#:~:text=Day%20speech%20(1971)-,Horace%20W.,George%20Washington%20University%20in%201944 WIcourts.gov Wisconsin Court System July 4, 2025 The election was held during the state's spring elections. During the spring primaries, the judicial primary was the only statewide ballot item, as no additional statewide offices questions were presented to voters on the spring primary ballot.Boyle Second High In Vote For Justice Hanley Daniel P. United Press International 1, 7 Tri-County Citizen en March 11, 1964 Boyle Second High In Vote For Justice https://www.newspapers.com/image/1053269021 1 Hanley Daniel P. United Press International Newspapers.com subscription Tri-County Citizen July 4, 2025 en March 11, 1964 Boyle Second https://www.newspapers.com/image/1053269493 7 Hanley Daniel P. United Press International Newspapers.com subscription Tri-County Citizen July 4, 2025 en March 11, 1964 The spring primary was the first Wisconsin election to be held after the state legislature had repealed an 1859 law previously mandating that taverns be closed during polling times. Following the state repeal, it was left for individual localities to decide whether or not to impose such tavern closures. Milwaukee opted to close its taverns, while Green Bay and Kenosha were among the communities to allow taverns to remain open during polling hours. Primary election Candidates Advanced Horace W. Wilkie, incumbent justice and former state senator (1957–1962)Koehler Michael Baseball, Apple Pie and Judicial Elections: An Analysis of the 1967 Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Marquette Law Review January 1, 2001 85 1 223 https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol85/iss1/8/ July 4, 2025Chief Justice Horace Wilkie https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33976765/horace_w_wilkie_19171976/ The Capital Times May 25, 1976 40 Newspapers.com July 18, 2019 Howard H. Boyle Jr., Beaver Dam-based attorney; candidate U.S. Senate candidate in 1956 and 1957A Question of Judicial Ethics https://www.newspapers.com/image/287570745 Newspapers.com subscription The Post-Crescent July 4, 2025 en March 15, 1964 Eliminated in the primary Harry E. Larsen, Superior-based attorney; runner-up of the 1963 Supreme Court election40-Hour Week for State Judges Urged by Larsen https://www.newspapers.com/image/401169580 Newspapers.com subscription Wisconsin State Journal United Press International 12 en February 22, 1964https://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/XF6R5VAIXPXFS8Y The Wisconsin Blue Book 1964 1964 digital.library.wisc.edu Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Theobald H. Rupert Elections in Wisconsin 769 January 4, 2024 Campaign thumb|Wilkie (photographed) was perceived to be an overwhelming front-runner before the results of the primary Wilkie was perceived as the overwhelming front-runner in the election. He received endorsements from most major elected officials and newspaper editorial boards in Wisconsin. Ahead of the primary, observers were confident in their expectation that the incumbent Wilkie would advance to the general election. However, many had mis-anticipated that Larsen would be his opponent. Boyle had been the last of the three candidates to launch his campaign, and his advancement to the general election came as a surprise. Boyle was a late entrant into the race. As the third candidate to qualify for the ballot, his entrance forced a primary election to be held (which would not have been necessary if only two candidates had run). Ahead of the primary election, Wilkie outlined a six-point proposal for improving the state's legal system. In this, he proposed that a reorganization of the state's court system could cut down on the case backlog that its trial courts were facing. He also called for court reforms to strengthen the Judicial Council.Judge the Same as Any Man, Larsen Says https://www.newspapers.com/image/293321957 Newspapers.com subscription Manitowoc (Wisc.) Herald-Times July 4, 2025 9 en February 6, 1964 Wilkie fiercely defended the ruling in McCauley v. Tropic of Cancer against Boyle's onslaught of attacks. He asserted that "pornography was not the issue" in the decision, but rather that the decision was about "affirming the right of free expression" in accordance with the United States Supreme Court's test for obscenity. Wilkie also made a case that the "independence of judges" was of paramount importance in Wisconsin's courts, remarking: The integrity and independence of Wisconsin's judicial system would be endangered if the election of a judge were based on the momentary popularity of a decision. During his primary campaign, Boyle positioned himself as an opponent of liberal judicial philosophy. Additionally, he highlighted bolstering the separation of powers between the state legislature and judiciary as another key concern of his campaign.2 Challenge Incumbent for State Supreme Court https://www.newspapers.com/image/342268863 Newspapers.com subscription Racine Sunday Bulletin April 10, 2026 16 March 8, 1964 In his relatively brief campaign ahead of the primary, Boyle used up only $318 in campaign expenditures. Spending very little time or funds, his strong performance in the primary was particularly unexpected. He greatly outperformed his vote total in either of his previous campaigns for the U.S. senate. In both the primary and general elections, Boyle aggressively condemned Wilkie for joining the majority in the McCauley v. Tropic of Cancer ruling of early 1964, in which the court had held that the novel Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller was not legally obscene. He argued that the ruling would be a slippery slope toward permitting pornography and that a vote for him against Wilkie would be a "Vote Against Smut". The outcome of the case had been publicly unpopular, and Boyle sought to capitalize off the public frustration. His tactic of framing his candidacy as one in opposition to smut attracted support for Boyle from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. However, many in Wisconsin were highly critical of his campaign approach. Harry E. Larsen, who was eliminated in the primary, spoke of his belief that protecting individual liberties under the law was of paramount importance when enforcing the rule of law.'Love Liberty' Larsen Asserts https://www.newspapers.com/image/247909855 Newspapers.com subscription The Oshkosh Daily Northwestern July 4, 2025 1 en March 6, 1964 He also proposed imposing a 40-hour workweek for Wisconsin judges and capping their vacations in order to lessen the state court system's case backlog. Larsen criticized Wilkie's six-point plan for judicial reform. Among his criticisms offered was a critique of Wilkie's for supporting a strengthening of the Judicial Council. Larsen argued that the council stood as an opponent to Wisconsin's voters' power to elect their judges, characterizing it as recently having been "the instigator and chief sponsor" of attempts to end Wisconsin's practice of electing its judges in favor of a Missouri Plan. Primary results thumb|Primary results by county: #51C2C2 Wilkie #ACF2F2 Wilkie—30–40% #7DDDDD Wilkie—40–50% #51C2C2 Wilkie—50–60% #2AACAC Wilkie—60–70% #FF9A50 Boyle #FFCCA9 Boyle—30–40% #FFB580 Boyle—40–50% #FF9A50 Boyle—50–60% #EE8E50 Boyle—60–70% #D69850 Boyle—70–80% #B98A35 Boyle—80–90% #FF80B2 Larsen #FFC5DA Larsen—30–40% #FFAACC Larsen—40–50% #FF80B2 Larsen—50–60% #FF5599 Larsen—60–70% #FF2A7F Larsen—70–80% The narrowness of the margin by which Wilkie led in the primary left uncertainty heading into the general election as to which candidate might prevail. A race that had been widely seen as a near certain Wilkie victory suddenly became perceived as a competitive one. The result of the primary election was unexpected; Boyle surprisingly advanced to the general election and came within only a few points of Wilkie's vote share. The result included a narrow margin between Boyle and Wilkie in the state's most populous county: Milwaukee County. The primary saw 376,248 votes cast, out of 2.2 million eligible voters in the state. This was greater than the turnout of 355,000 that election officials had forecast. The higher-than-expected turnout may have been in part the result of good weather across the state on election day. 1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Primary election (March 10, 1964)The Wisconsin Blue Book 1964 https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AXF6R5VAIXPXFS8Y/pages/ARLHD4XJYJLRFU8I search.library.wisc.edu (University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries) Wisconsin Secretary of State July 4, 2025 1964 Nonpartisan politician Horace W. Wilkie (incumbent) 141041 37.49 Nonpartisan politician Howard H. Boyle Jr. 127020 33.76 Nonpartisan politician Harry E. Larsen 108187 28.75 376248 100 General election Campaign thumb|Newspaper advertisement for Wilkie's campaign, featuring a photograph of him with his familyAfter the primary, the Milwaukee Journal editorial board argued that Boyle's framing of his candidacy was "highly questionable...for a judicial candidate", as it appeared to indicate that as a justice he himself would disregard law and legal precedent in order to deliver a popular decision. All six of Wilkie's fellow justices rebuked Boyle as resorting to campaign tactics that "blatantly cater to prejudice" and "utterly lack the essential quality of judicial mind and temperament". Boyle also faced accusations that his campaign conduct violated canon 30 of the Canons of Judicial Ethics of the American Bar Association, a rule that stated: A candidate for judicial positions should not make or suffer others to make for him, promises of conduct in office which appeal to the cupidity or prejuices of the appointing or electing power; he should not announce in advance his conclusion of law on disputed issues to secure class support, and he should do nothing while a candidate to create the impression that if chosen, he will administer his office with bias, partiality or improper discrimination. The Milwaukee Junior Bar Association censured Boyle for what it asserted was a "clear and direct violation of canon 30 of the canons of judicial ethics." The editorial board of The Post-Crescent also believed that Boyle had violated canon 30. During the campaign Wilkie fiercely defended the ruling in McCauley v. Tropic of Cancer against Boyle's onslaught of attacks. He asserted that "pornography was not the issue" in the decision, but rather that the decision was about "affirming the right of free expression" in accordance with the United States Supreme Court's test for obscenity. Wilkie also made a case that the "independence of judges" was of paramount importance in Wisconsin's courts, remarking:The integrity and independence of Wisconsin's judicial system would be endangered if the election of a judge were based on the momentary popularity of a decision. Results Wilkie won re-election, though by a margin that was to many observers surprisingly narrow. 1964 Wisconsin Supreme Court election | colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General election (April 7, 1964)The Wisconsin Blue Book 1964 https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AXF6R5VAIXPXFS8Y/pages/ARLHD4XJYJLRFU8I search.library.wisc.edu (University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries) Wisconsin Secretary of State July 4, 2025 1964 Nonpartisan politician Horace W. Wilkie (incumbent) 556639 53.20 Nonpartisan politician Howard H. Boyle Jr. 489703 46.80 1046342 100 References Category:Wisconsin Supreme Court elections supreme court Wisconsin