Attorney Dan Kelly will replace retiring Justice David Prosser, as of August, and is expected to leave the court's 5-2 conservative majority intact.
According to the Associated Press, Kelly included in his application materials, his stated opposition to same-sex marriage and his belief that affirmative action is akin to slavery.
Kelly has defended the redistricting plan Wisconsin Republican legislators drew in 2011. One court found that the boundaries denied Milwaukee Latino voters of adequate representation and ordered the state to redraw two districts.
Now a second lawsuit against the plan is pending in federal court. Opponents claim the map unconstitutionally disregards some votes by packing certain districts with either Democrats or Republicans, leaving few swing districts in the state and solidifying GOP control of the Legislature.
Kelly has reportedly served on an advisory board for the conservative legal group, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. Its president posted reaction to Friday's announcement, reading in part: “(Kelly) is a very bright, capable attorney who believes in a judiciary that interprets the law objectively."
