Why Gableman Is Stepping Down
And how will that affect the race for Supreme Court?
Michael Gableman
Good riddance.
The announcement that Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman will not run for reelection in 2018 was good news for anyone who wants justices with integrity. Gableman is the most ethically challenged justice on the Supreme Court, and surely ranked among the worst in the court’s history. Indeed, his transgressions were so blatant that either of the two challengers running against him could have run some powerful attack ads. That may well explain why Gableman is stepping down, though there are different theories on that, as well as the likely impact on the election.
Gableman was a relative nobody, with a bureaucratic job as an administrative law judge in Appleton, from which he never could have run for the Supreme Court. But in August 2002, he was the surprise choice of Republican Gov. Scott McCallum to be appointed Burnett County Circuit Court Judge. Normally, a governor picks the candidate from a list of finalists determined by a judicial review panel. But McCallum overruled the panel and chose Gableman, who wasn’t a finalist and hadn’t even applied for the job.
Why? Gableman, it turned out, had made calls — on government time — to help organize a campaign fundraiser for McCallum, made two separate donations of $1,250 each to McCallum and took off from his job to attend the fundraiser, yet charged the state for working that day. The Office of Lawyer Regulation later investigated Gableman for making long-distance phone calls from his government office to solicit donors for McCallum.
In 2008 Gableman ran against the respected incumbent Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler and won an upset victory with the help of a sleazy, racially charged ad against Butler, who is African American. The ad charged that Butler “found a loophole” to get a convicted child molester, Reuben Lee Mitchell, off on a technicality and that Mitchell went on to commit another crime. This was a blatant lie: Butler’s appeal was actually unsuccessful, Mitchell served 11 years in jail, and committed a crime after his release.
Given the many years Butler served as public defender, Gableman could have probably found a suspect whom Butler did help go free and later committed a crime so why would Gableman chose a case he had to lie about? Perhaps because Mitchell was black and by choosing him, Gableman could remind voters that Butler is too, and by intimation equate the two.
Normally a candidate doesn’t want to be associated with an ad so vicious and misleading and leaves it to some third party group to run it, but Gableman so wanted to win that his campaign did the ad. This resulted in a complaint by the state Judicial Commission accusing Gableman of knowingly running an untruthful ad. The commission found Gableman sat on the ad for a week, considering revisions, before deciding to release the ad with no changes.
Adding greatly to the sleaze factor is that Gableman got free legal representation for two years — from 2008-2010 — from the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP to help him fight the Judicial Commission complaint. The value of that free help has been estimated to be as high as $100,000.
Yet Gableman, even while getting this free help, heard cases involving the firm without disclosing this massive conflict, ruling in favor of the firm’s clients at least five times. One of those cases was Act 10, where Michael Best represented the state in arguing the law stripping collective bargaining rights was constitutional, and Gableman wrote the decision agreeing. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne later challenged this decision, citing all the free legal help Gableman got, and the court again once again deadlocked 3-3 on this complaint.
Gableman consistently voted against efforts to reform the court, including a proposal that would have required justices to recuse from cases involving major campaign donors. Instead he sided with fellow conservative judges to accept verbatim a proposal written by the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) which stated that a campaign donation by itself could never require a recusal.
Gableman later wrote the horrendous decision shutting down the John Doe investigation of illegal campaign coordination between Gov. Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Club for Growth and WMC, though these two groups spent $2.3 million on the judge’s 2008 campaign, or 63 percent of all money spent to elect him. The opposing lawyer asked that Gableman recuse himself, but he declined, without bothering to offer any explanation. This is a man who clearly lacks any ethical compass.
After his 2008 election, Gableman made it clear he aimed to serve for multiple terms. So why would someone so cravenly ambitious decide not to run for reelection? One theory is that Gableman wants to earn even more money, say with the kind of elite firm — like Michael Best? — that handles many cases before the state’s highest court, and might pay highly for a former justice who can offer insights into its internal dynamics. But Gableman is not the sort of person who would resign before securing such a job.
A more likely explanation is the WMC and other big conservative groups consider Gableman too toxic and too vulnerable to attack ads. As one GOP insider told me, Gableman has probably gotten the message that the money won’t be there should he run for reelection. In short, even the conservative groups who helped elect him realize Gableman is too ethically stained to stand before the electorate.
So far all media accounts have suggested Gableman will serve out his full term. For Republicans a far better scenario is that Gableman resigns now so Walker can appoint a replacement who can then run as an incumbent. Odds are that conservative insiders will be leaning on some law firm to offer Gableman a huge salary so he can quit early.
As for who Walker might appoint, I’m told that former Republican legislator and state Court of Appeals Judge Mark Gundrum is a possible choice. Another possibility is state Court of Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn, who served for several years as Gov. Walker’s chief legal counsel. Two other possibilities are Ellen Nowak, chair of the state Public Service Commission, and Milwaukee attorney Michael Brennan, a former circuit court judge, who has chaired Walker’s judicial selection advisory committee.
All four are conservatives and all four have never run for state-wide office. But whatever their relative strengths, one thing is clear: they are beacons of ethical purity compared to Gableman.
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The people of the WMC are bigots for supporting Gabelman. Resist all conservative and Republicans they are unAmerican and traitors.
Bruce, many thanks.
If there’s anything left of the school system in a few decades, perhaps they can shorten up that part of Social Studies classes that focus on the “way past” and save some time for more recent items that will have clearly had an effect on history. Event series like these, each seemingly innocuous, and that have had a steady and sinister hand guiding them for decades, need to be well recorded so that future generations can fix the system (or at least see when it is happening).
What a heartbreaking narrative.
A judge , justices, or any public officials sexual orientation should make no difference. Unless of course that individual is right wing christian who is unmarried, and has had the same male companion from Minnesota for decades. The Mexican writer who wrote that every person has a public , a private, and a secret life was spot on in Gableman’s case. The number of people who are aware of this personal situation in a family values spouting Justice is large and growing .I doubt whether any opposing candidate would make of point of Gableman’s personal life, nor should they. However, to the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce leadership and other right wing donors, apparently public awareness of Gableman’s personal life does matter. . When WMC and their ilk spend millions to purchase a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a candidate, who will then be in their back pocket , they don’t want to take any chances. My guess:, Gableman requested the usual 2 million dollar commitment these groups have given in the past. and was told to take a hike.
Bingo; daniel golden nailed it!
I like the theory from Daniel Golden, and the other Jake is pretty spot-on too.There’s some without welfare gig waiting for Gabey. Maybe the Bradley hacks at WILL are hiring.
Shame on all of you suburb sheep who followed Sykes, Gelling, and Icki’s Bradley/WMC propaganda and put this crooked, unqualified dirtbag on the bench. And the guy who WMC selected to replace Crooked Gabey is every bit as scummy- his biggest gig before becoming a judge was working in secret with WISGOP off-site to gerrymander the state.
Normally a candidate doesn’t want to be associated with an ad so vicious and misleading and leaves it to some third party group to run it….Bruce a little naive don’t you think. You really think political groups do not co-mingle with third parties. Second, you criticize a judge cause he is from a small town. I suppose we cannot all come from an Ivy League School. My choice for loser Justice would be Ann Walsh Bradley, who conjured up being assaulted by David Prosser just to manufacture some fake news during his run for another term. The media ate that up luckily voters no better.
Defending a male judge who called a female justice a bitch and put his hands on her neck. A misogynist and an abuser. He is a piece of shit Troll Jason. Of course you defend him.
Bruce, keep up the great work. It makes me sad to see what our state has become.
Halleluyah and farewell. Hopefully we don’t get another Ziegler type. Gable Man left for the same reason Obey left — nobody wants to go out like Feingold did. OUr Supremes are so grizzled and hoary. Can we just start over? Who will offer a mandatory retirement law like our pals in MN?
Jason, I don’t think Justice Ann Bradley conjured up the 3 witnesses to the attack by David Prosser. This was not a case of he said she said. Justice Prosser attacked Justice Bradley in her chambers in front of 3 of their colleagues.
We have the best state supreme court money can buy. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t provide justice for all, only those who bought and paid for the conservative justices who sit on the court. The rest of us are screwed.
Not to mention that in a story that carefully explains the many problems with Gableman, Man of the People Troll Jason’s biggest objection is his perception that Bruce takes a dig at small towns. Talk about spin and dodge.
Just an FYI, i was not making a “dig” at small towns. I don’t know where Gableman is from. My point was that an administrative law judge position was not much of a platform from which to run for Supreme Court, so he needed the appointment from McCallum.
That is obvious to everyone who isn’t a troll.
In fairness, it should be noted that Charlie Sykes criticized Gableman for his Willie Horton-style ad. It should also be noted that Mark Gundrum would be similar to Gableman. Just google him and the Supermax prison.
Gableman did fantastic job keeping the court out of the left.
Mary Kay is liar, Bradley attacked him, he put up his hands to stop her.
Yes because when you put your hands up in the air to defend yourself they always put pressure on the attacker’s neck. He also called her a bitch. If a liberal called a conservative woman a bitch, you would lose your mind. But a conservative said it so you are fine with that. Such a hypocrite WCD.
Either her neck or her chest, she is a bitch as is the other one.
He grabbed her neck, as the witnesses make clear. Wow just openly declaring your misogyny. At least you’re honest about it. Is your wife allowed to leave the house without your consent?