Ziegler Still Pushing for Courts Security Agency

Conservative Chief Justice Annette Ziegler. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)

Republican legislators refused Chief Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler’s request for a new law enforcement agency that would have provided additional security for judges, court workers and courtrooms. But she hasn’t given up the effort.

In her annual State of the Judiciary speech, Ziegler cited the murders of two judges – including former Juneau County Circuit Court Judge John Roemer in June of 2022 – by those who had appeared before them in calling for “significant improvements” in judicial system security.

This was less than a month after an armed man, Joshua Pleasnick, twice in one day came to the Capitol, one of the most open statehouses in the nation, demanding to speak to Gov. Tony Evers. Charged with a misdemeanor for openly carrying a gun in public, he has said he now lives in Nebraska.

“Not only must we judges be safe, but our courthouses must also be safe places to conduct our judicial system business, protecting practitioners and members of the public alike,” Ziegler said.

Earlier this year, when Republican legislators were debating the 2023-25 state budget, Ziegler said she fought for “our own judicial branch law enforcement department.”

Her proposal would have expanded the duties of the court’s Marshal’s Office “to provide security for not only the Supreme Court, but also enhance security for all judges and court facilities throughout the state [and] funding for high priority and ongoing cybersecurity initiatives and maintenance and provided grant funding for county courthouses.”

No estimate of what the new law enforcement agency would have cost was available.

Although legislators did fund her request for more cybersecurity, Ziegler added, “Even when the need is obvious, we hit some roadblocks with respect to establishing a judicial branch law enforcement office. Bottom line: The Legislature was not willing to create a new agency.”

Ziegler said she then met with Capitol police and Wisconsin State Patrol officers on other security requests, including “establishing a dignitary unit” similar to the one that protects the governor and lieutenant governor and visiting officials.

One change, the chief justice added, is that former Supreme Court Marshal Tammy Johnson will be working with Capitol police on security issues.

Ziegler vowed to keep fighting for “well-equipped security personnel, increased physical and technological security measures and continually monitored internet surveillance… to avoid and detect problems and become aware of and understand threats before they are realized.”

“Judges should not be intimidated, influenced, or threatened,” she added.

Investigators said Roemer was shot to death on June 3, 2022, by Douglas K. Uhde, who the judge had sentenced to prison 15 years earlier and who then killed himself. Uhde reportedly had documents targeting Evers, U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

On Oct. 19, Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was shot to death by Pedro Argote hours after the judge had ruled in Argote’s divorce and child custody case. Officials said Argote also committed suicide.

Ziegler also called for Wisconsin to “reimagine” how to help the mentally ill, saying it is a critical problem for Wisconsin’s judicial system.

“We need to find better methods to treat low-level offenders who otherwise cycle in and out of the court system, not making any strides or improvement,” she said. “In fact, these people often deteriorate in the process [and] rarely truly receive effective help.”

Wisconsin needs “community-based mental health systems where people receive dignified, respectful, effective treatment,” Ziegler added. “We can work at the local level to collaborate and think creatively about utilizing existing resources in a way that will benefit these individuals and also society.”

The chief justice hosted a Mental Health Summit in April that considered how Arizona and Miami courts respond to mental health issues.

Recently, Ziegler has clashed with the court’s new four-justice liberal bloc that resulted from the April election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz. Those four have made changes diminishing the chief justice’s powers.

In her speech, Ziegler referred to “recent significant challenges” in the seven-member court but mentioned no examples.

Ziegler, however, praised former Court Administrator Randy Koschnick, who the four-justice liberal bloc fired in August, 13 times in her speech. The four replaced Koschnick with Milwaukee County Judge Audrey Skwierawski

Koschnick was responsible for many judicial system improvements, Ziegler told the annual meeting of Wisconsin judges, which included all seven Supreme Court justices. “Let’s give him a hand,” she declared, “for his outstanding work.”

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com