Via MAL Contends
Madison, Wisconsin - It used to be that when one thought of corruption and Wisconsin politics, the very idea would bring a smile across the faces of political observers not living in Wisconsin.
Illinois’ neighbor to the north was so squeaky-clean, and committed to open and honest government that we were actually laughed at for this politically pious dedication.
No more.
With the election of Annette Ziegler this last spring as Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, Wisconsin's reputation has rightfully faded.
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MAL Contends
Wisconsin, a checkered blue and red state with islands of dark-blue progressivism, is experiencing the same problems that plague politics nationally: A corrupt GOP dominated by power-lust and the religious right, an often-spineless and corporate-caving democratic party, and a too-depoliticized-for-comfort electorate.
But Justice Ziegler takes the cake.
Running a campaign staffed by talented GOP political operatives, Ziegler waltzed into office against a faltering campaign run by her democratic opponent.
The corruption problem with Ziegler is that as a circuit court judge Ziegler, as the watchdog group, One Wisconsin Now, notes, presided over 45 cases involving West Bend Savings Bank after her husband had joined the bank's board of directors.
Dee J. Hall, reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, must have looked long and far to find a source willing to knock down criticism of Justice Annette Ziegler’s presiding over numerous cases in which Ziegler had a clear financial interest, violative of Wisconsin conflict of interest rules.
Hall has been skillfully covering the case for the State Journal, and in last Sunday’s piece she found an authoritative source who well represents the character of Ziegler’s dismissive attitude toward the public interest: Herbert Kritzer, a former U.W. Law School professor now teaching at William Mitchell School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Kritzer’s quote is incredible: "I would describe the misconduct as significant in the sense that it raises some questions about Justice Ziegler’s judgment. ... But I wouldn’t call it serious, in the sense that I think it extremely unlikely that it had any actual impact on any decisions then-Judge Ziegler made."
The Judicial Conduct Panel now investigating Ziegler held a hearing Monday (November 19) and the Wisconsin Supreme Court will ultimately decide the fate of Ziegler, disciplining one of its own members for the first time in state history.
As the State Journal’s Hall points out, "The disciplinary options available to the court include reprimand, censure, suspension, and expulsion."
But what has Wisconsin jurists and the rule-of-law crowd appalled is Ziegler and Kritzer’s blasé mindset toward the conflict-of-interest rules (State Code of Judicial Conduct) that guide Wisconsin judges.
The rules exist to assure the public and all parties involved in litigation that Wisconsin judges hearing cases will be impartial, neutral, and fair in all facets of a given legal case, meaning that a judge is to be regarded as an utterly objective entity who will base decisions upon the law and nothing else.
"You won’t hear many attorneys saying this out loud (on the record), but this professor (Kritzer) is nuts. It doesn’t matter how she (Ziegler) ruled. She had a conflict of interest and failed to disclose it. That’s unforgivable," one jurist commented. "For a law professor to say that (presiding over cases in which one has a conflict of interests) is not serious is ridiculous. It’s always serious, and it always matters that even if circumstances exist that would only lead to a perception of a conflict of interest, perception is vitally important so people know their judges are not corrupt."
Wisconsin citizens elected Ziegler after these conflicts of interests and Ziegler's lies about them on the campaign trail were widely disclosed.
But it’s up to jurists, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, to see that Ziegler, surely a demonstrably corrupt judge to any objective observer, is not allowed to continue serving on the state’s highest court.
Many Wisconsin attorneys expect the Court—declining in the academic quality of its opinions and ascending in it partisanship—to issue a slap on the wrist.
At Monday's judicial conduct hearing, Ziegler's attorney spoke for Ziegler because were Ziegler to make the argument that her attorney made on her behalf, Ziegler would have become the object of instant ridicule.
Hypocrisy is no disqualification for serving on the state’s highest court, but ethics are.
Ziegler's attorney said that Ziegler on at least 11 occasions presided over cases involving West Bend Savings Bank after her husband joined the bank's board of directors "inadvertently," though a basic judicial procedure is to check for conflicts and announce them to the litigants.
As the Superior (Wisconsin) Daily Telegram writes in its editorial:
How does a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice "inadvertently" violate the state’s ethics code? Shouldn’t a lawyer who advanced so far in her profession have at least a minimal grasp of appropriate judicial conduct?
Apparently not, according to the attorney representing newly elected Justice Annette Ziegler. During a Monday disciplinary hearing before three Court of Appeals judges, attorney James Troupis said his client, back when she was a circuit court judge, failed to recognize a conflict of interest when ruling on cases involving West Bend Savings Bank while her husband served on the institution’s board.
News reports don’t indicate whether Troupis kept a straight face while pleading Ziegler’s defense. Certainly, his agrument wouldn’t hold water if the tables were turned. What judge would find a defendant blameless because they "inadvertently" forgot laws against domestic abuse, embezzlement or murder? It’s astounding that a state Supreme Court justice would allow such legal blasphemy to be uttered in her name.
But this is an era in which shameless public officials shake off humiliation like ducks shed water.
Way past time for Ziegler to go; let's hope Wisconsin citizens begin a recall drive should the Wisconsin Supreme Court allow this corrupt public official to continue serving and deceiving Wisconsin citizens.
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MAL Contends
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One Wisconsin Now
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One Wisconsin Now
-Wisconsin conflict of interest rules
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