Update: Ben Masel calculates 540,425 signatures for recall within a given 60-day period.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler should be recalled.
Ziegler ran a dishonest campaign about her conduct on the bench, the very judicial experience she cited as qualifying her for a seat on Wisconsin's highest court.
Ziegler also ran a campaign featuring illustrations of how tough-on-crime she had been during her tenure as a county judge. Ziegler believes in following the rules, we were led to believe.
Ziegler's pattern of breaking the conflict-of-interest rules again and again ought to disqualify her as an impartial and objective party judging and applying the law and regulations to other attorneys and litigants.
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 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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540,425 signatures for recall,
ReplyDeleteto be collected within 60 days. Very tall order. For reference, I averaged 82 a day myself qualifying for the Senate race last year.
There's also a provision in the State Constitution allowing judges to be removed by the Legislature.
ARTICLE VII,SECTION 13.
Any justice or judge may be removed from office by address of both houses of the legislature, if two–thirds of all the members elected to each house concur therein, but no removal shall be made by virtue of this section unless the justice or judge complained of is served with a copy of the charges, as the ground of address, and has had an opportunity of being heard. On the question of removal, the ayes and noes shall be entered on the journals.
You lefties can cry all you want but Justice Ziegler will not be recalled. During the race, she made it known that she heard these West Bend cases. The Wisconsin electorate overwhelmingly voted for her. This is why your charges are not gaining any traction.
ReplyDeleteThe alternative to Annette Ziegler was that despicable woman: Linda Clifford, who paid a private investigator to dig up dirt. So, that does mean the electorate voted against this unscrupulous UNETHICAL woman.
Instead of pointing out 11 cases in a vague manner, look them up on Wisconsin Case Law and post the results of your findings.
This Wisconsin Citizen is proud to be a supporter of Annette Ziegler.
The germantown_kid
Anon, you are simply wrong on many different levels. First, Ziegler only addressed the WBSB conflicts after she was forced to do so. Second, she refused to admit wrongdoing regarding those cases during the campaign, waiting only after WMC's money bought her the seat on the high court. She was able to run out the clock while her benifactors at WMC drowned out the details of her scandal.
ReplyDeleteJust a thought, maybe if you are going to start throwing around the description "unethical women" you should start with someone that has now admitted to violating ethics rules repeatedly.
Look, I spent nearly $1000 getting her elected. Recall her, no way. I bought my judge fair and square. I could care less that she screwed some shleps who owed the Bank some $$. What counts is that before ruling on ANY cases that could effect a small company like mine, she'll be calling the WMC and we'll tell her how to rule.
ReplyDeleteWe bought her fair and square. We own her and don't tell us what to do with our property.