Too many officials believe they can get away with withholding public records. Or they can rest easy in the knowledge it will be taxpayers, not them, stuck with the bill even if they lose a challenge.
Tag: Michael Gableman
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin regulators file complaint against former Justice Michael Gableman, who led 2020 election probe
Judicial regulators filed a complaint against a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who spread election conspiracy theories, accusing him of violating multiple rules of conduct.
Posted inGovernment
Wisconsin judge won’t order sequestering of absentee ballots
A Wisconsin judge refused to order that military absentee ballots be pulled aside and sequestered until it can be verified that they were cast legally, saying that would be a “drastic remedy” that could disenfranchise voters.
Posted inDemocracy on the Ballot, Government
‘Blurring of lines’: Private lawyer plays starring role in taxpayer-funded Wisconsin election probe
With no contract and no official role, the work of attorney Erick Kaardal of the Thomas More Society dominates the investigation.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column
Recusal an issue in high court race
Marquette University law professor Ed Fallone, Roggensack’s challenger in the April 2 election, is seeking to make recusal an issue in this campaign. He says Roggensack “bears a large part of the responsibility for pushing through” a 2010 change in court rules stating that mere receipt of campaign contributions or endorsements can never in itself require recusal.
Posted inGovernment, Money & Politics
Capitol chaos shines spotlight on secretive state institutions
The backdrop for many of Wisconsin’s current ethical controversies is an unprecedented flow of money into the state’s political machinery. With last year’s Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case, some loopholes in the state’s campaign finance laws have grown even wider.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Ain’t nobody’s business but their own?
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices are sharply split — not just on when they should not take part in a given case, but even over whether the court has the authority to make such calls.
Posted inGovernment
Roggensack decided case involving her own lawyer
In late 2006, a Grant County jury ordered Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores to pay a $6.5 million judgment, the largest in Wisconsin that year. The lawsuit brought by receiver Michael Polsky had accused the two men of plundering a stereo components company, through excessive payments to themselves. The company had gone belly up, leaving its creditors — including numerous small businesses — with major losses.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
How the justices see it
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court justices divide sharply on the recusal issue. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Patrick Crooks have sought stricter standards, while Justices David Prosser, Patience Roggensack, Annette Ziegler and Michael Gableman have voted to let judges take part in cases involving campaign supporters and against allowing a court majority to force a justice’s removal.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Recusal disputes drive tension among Supreme Court justices
Wisconsin has a loose and secretive system for determining when judges and justices should recuse themselves though most other states have clearer, more objective recusal standards. The issue of judicial recusal has sparked sharp disagreements among a court known for its internal discord.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Supreme Court opts to close some meetings
After nearly two hours of often-contentious discussion, a sharply divided Wisconsin Supreme Court voted Monday to end its longstanding practice of discussing court administrative matters in open conference.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column
Attorney conduct at issue in Gableman dust-up
Michael Gableman, the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, has been drawing flak over revelations that he received free legal help in an ethics case from a law firm representing clients with past and pending cases before the court. But, as the saying goes, it takes two to tango. If Gableman’s receipt of legal services from Michael Best violated state ethics laws, what can be said about Eric McLeod, the Michael Best lawyer who entered into this agreement?