A member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, recently elected as a Democrat, has come under fire from state Republicans for her refusal to recuse herself from upcoming election cases.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has raised concerns that if the judge does not step aside, she could potentially face impeachment proceedings.
“If there is any semblance of honor on the state Supreme Court left, you cannot have a person who runs for the court prejudging a case and being open about it, and then acting on the case as if you’re an impartial observer,” Vos said, according to a report from the Washington Examiner.
WND recently reported how the chief justice of the court described as “shameful” the actions of the new liberal majority.
Those four, without consulting the other three members of the court, fired the court administrator.
“The court’s action today violates the Wisconsin Constitution which endows the chief justice with administrative authority. The authority of the chief justice is being undermined and eroded unlike any time in this court’s history. … This lack of respect for longstanding institutional process is reckless,” said Chief Justice Annette Ziegler in a statement after the four liberals voted, without consulting anyone else, to fire Randy Koschnick, the director of the state courts.
“A vote of four may dictate decisions of our court, but those votes are taken during formally noticed court conferences scheduled by the chief justice; no such conference has occurred,” Ziegler said. “Apparently several of my colleagues do not think court conferences are necessary to conduct court business when there is a pre-ordained determination. Their actions today effectively silence those members of the court who have not been privy to these secret discussions.”
The recent induction of Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal, into the court has caused a shift in direction from its former conservative leanings under Pat Roggensack’s tenure.
To prevent Protasiewicz from influencing any decision on the current legislative redistricting process, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has indicated that lawmakers may remove her from office should she become involved in the matter.
The Examiner reported, “The race between Kelly and Protasiewicz was the most expensive race for a state Supreme Court in history, with an estimated $45 million pumped into it from special interest groups, including liberal megadonor George Soros and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, one of America’s wealthiest families who have two of the deepest pockets in conservative politics. ”
Vox declared that if Protasiewicz does not recuse herself from cases she has already pre-judged, it would constitute a “grave offense”.
He will await the outcome to see how this situation will unfold.
The Republican Party holds a majority in the Assembly and a supermajority in the State Senate, giving them the power to impeach and remove a judge if they so choose.
