Both the Wisconsin State Journal and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel are reporting in their online editions that Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney has, in essence, recused himself from the investigation of an alleged attack by one Wisconsin Supreme Court justice against another.
The Journal-Sentinel is also reporting more details of the choking incident, including a report that the alleged victim, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, suggested that the alleged attacker, Justice David Prosser, attend an anger management seminar. She made the suggestion on June 15, two days after the incident.
According to the Journal Sentinel:
About 6 p.m. on June 13, Prosser and the others walked together to Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson's office. She wasn't there, so they went to Bradley's office, where Abrahamson and Bradley were.
The encounter quickly grew heated and did not last long - perhaps 10 minutes in all.
Bradley's chambers consist of three connected offices. Bradley and Abrahamson were in the office where Bradley herself works. The others were in a connecting room, with at least some of them positioned in the entryway into Bradley's office.
They argued about when the decision would be released and their frustrations over what the majority considered delays.
Bradley asked Prosser to leave, but he did not and the justices continued to argue....
...Bradley got close to Prosser and again demanded that he leave, with some sources saying she charged at him with her fists raised.
It is here that accounts differ most significantly, with some saying Prosser put his hands around Bradley's neck and others saying Prosser touched her after raising his hands in defense or to push her back.
Bradley yelled for Prosser to get his hands off her neck or that she was being choked, sources said.
The incident is being investigated independently by both the Wisconsin Judicial Commission and by the Dane County Sheriff's office. Sheriff Dave Mahoney said on Tuesday that he had assigned the investigation to a deputy and that he would not be personally involved in any way.
Both the Wisconsin State Journal and the Journal Sentinel implied that the sheriff distanced himself only after it was noted by the papers earlier in the day that Mahoney had endorsed Prosser's opponent in the recent Supreme Court election. Some right-wing bloggers had suggested that Mahoney, a Democrat, would be biased in the investigation, but it was almost comical that his endorsement earlier this spring of Joanne Kloppenburg was portrayed today as a revelation. It was a public endorsement.
The choking incident was originally investigated by Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs (I "met" Chief Tubbs in the antechamber of the Wisconsin Assembly on March 10th. He politely asked me to leave. When I politely refused, two state troopers impolitely dragged me out while I sang "Solidarity Forever". Smart guy - very good at using psychology to get what he wants. Didn't work that day, though.) Tubbs referred the investigation to the Sheriff's office after consulting with members of the Supreme Court, according to the State Journal.
Prosser has reportedly not ruled out hiring an attorney. Attorney or no, his strategy of having anonymous allies cloud the investigation with last-minute allegations against Bradley appears to be working. Many observers are now predicting that the investigation will dissolve into a he-said/she-said dispute and that no charges will be filed against Prosser (or against Bradley, who is apparently being accused of attacking Prosser by thrusting her neck into his open hands.)
There is no dispute that Prosser earlier this year called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson a "total bitch" and threatened that he would "destroy her." Prosser has admitted that. But hey, who needs anger management training? Doesn't everyone call his or her a boss a total bitch to her face and threaten to destroy her? All in a day's work, right?
Hey! Local Madison news just showed video of a few hundred in New York City "greeting" Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Thanks, New York!!!
That's a good place to stop.
UPDATE 06/29/11 11:31 a.m. CDT...Apparently the trolls are out in full force trying hard to spin this in Prosser's favor. They are crawling all over the comment thread and one even sent me a couple nasty messages. Makes me feel good that a relatively tame diary stating what newspapers are reporting and a couple snarky post-scripts can get them so riled up.
A Monday interview with the author of the original article is here (MP3 file will play immediately):
http://www.archive.org/...
The notion that this was sloppy reporting, or that there is equally compelling evidence for both versions of the incident is laughable.