One Wisconsin Now
Press Release

Wisconsin State Supreme Court Conservatives Reject Petition to Reform Rules on Judicial Recusal

Choose to Protect Special Interests’ ‘Pay Your Due Process’ Instead of Constitutional Right to Due Process

By - Apr 20th, 2017 10:52 am

MADISON, Wis. — The conservative majority on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court today voted to kill a petition supported by 56 retired judges to reform the rules guiding state court judges on when they must recuse themselves in cases involving parties that supported their campaigns.

Today’s action let’s stand the current rule, literally written by special interest groups that spent millions of dollars on the campaigns of the judges comprising the current court majority.

The following are the comments of One Wisconsin Now Research Director and attorney Jenni Dye:

“When it comes to questions about their ethics and their public reputations, the conservative court majority has no problem decrying how they are portrayed. But as we saw today, they won’t do anything clean up their acts.

“It seems like the five conservative justices on the state’s high court overlooked the guarantee of due process under the Constitution, and instead they voted to protect the special interests’ ability to game a “pay your dues” process.

“By rejecting the petition – or even holding a public hearing to consider it – they defended a status quo where members of this Court and other judges can reap electoral rewards of massive special interest spending with no concern for the appearance, if not the existence, of actual corruption or the damage done to the public’s faith in the impartiality of the court.”

One Wisconsin Now is a statewide communications network specializing in effective earned media and online organizing to advance progressive leadership and values.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

People:
Organizations:

Recent Press Releases by One Wisconsin Now

Dan Kelly’s Opinion: It’s OK to Lie in Judicial Campaigns

State Supreme Court Candidate Co-Authored Column Opposing Efforts to Clean Up Court Campaigns

Campaign Cash Keeps Flowing to WILL’s Shill Dan Kelly

Over $14,000 from Board Members of Right-Wing Legal Group to State Court Justice’s Campaign

Right-Wing Group That Wants to Criminalize Abortion Backs Dan Kelly State Supreme Court Campaign

Dan Kelly Supporters Want Court Action to Allow Enforcement of Abortion Ban Dating to 19th Century

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us