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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow called the 2003 Lawrence v. Texas decision by the U.S. Supreme Court “a prime example of judicial activism at its worst” in her application to be appointed judge. 

In that case, the high court ruled that a Texas law criminalizing consensual sexual conduct between same-sex individuals was unconstitutional because it violated the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. Dorow said the court “went well beyond the four corners of the U.S. Constitution to declare a new constitutional right,” including by citing precedents from other countries. 

In October, Dorow presided over the jury trial of the man convicted of killing six people during the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade, sentencing him to life without parole. She recently announced her candidacy for the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The primary will be Feb. 21, with the final election on April 4, 2023. 

 This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Wisconsin Justice Initiative: Jennifer R. Dorow

Cornell: Lawrence v. Texas

AP News: Parade killings judge running for Wisconsin Supreme Court

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Jacob Alabab-Moser joined as Wisconsin Watch’s fact checker in September 2022, as part of the effort by The Gigafact Project in partnership with different state-level news outlets to combat misinformation in the 2022 midterm elections. Jacob has several years of experience as a fact checker and research assistant at a variety of organizations, including at The Gigafact Project. He holds a BA from Brown University and is pursuing a MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.