Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control for the first time in 15 years

Democrat Janet Protasiewicz was sworn into the Wisconsin Supreme Court, flipping the body to liberal control after having a conservative majority for the past 15 years. 

Protasiewicz, a former Milwaukee County judge who won her election in April, was sworn in Tuesday to a 10-year term in the Wisconsin Capitol Rotunda. 

"We all want a Wisconsin where our freedoms are protected," she said at the swearing-in ceremony, according to The Associated Press. "We want a Wisconsin with a fair and impartial Supreme Court. We all want to live in communities that are safe. And we all want a Wisconsin where everyone is afforded equal justice under the law."

During the officially nonpartisan race, Protasiewicz campaigned on abortion rights and called the state's Republican-drawn district maps "rigged."

The court is now expected to hear cases on abortion and GOP-drawn legislative districts. Additionally, a Democratic group filed a lawsuit looking to undo a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling from last year that banned absentee voting drop boxes.

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