The Landmark Legal Foundation is calling for an investigation of the 29 Wisconsin judges who signed petitions for the recall of Governor Scott Walker.
Twenty-nine circuit court judges in Wisconsin were among the thousands to sign recall petitions against Gov. Scott Walker, according to a Gannett Wisconsin Media analysis.
Dane County Judge David Flanagan has drawn the lion's share of the scrutiny after issuing a temporary restraining order March 6 against a Walker-backed voter ID law without disclosing his support of the recall, but the analysis shows he was joined by judges from 15 other counties in signing petitions.
...The Gannett Wisconsin analysis — based on a digital database of recall signatures created by Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty and We the People of the Republic — revealed judges from all corners of the state signed on in support of the recall. The data showed none of the state's 16 appeals court judges or seven Supreme Court justices signed.
Milwaukee County, with one-fifth of the state's circuit court judges, had the most with 11. The county has 47 judges, meaning about a quarter of the judges signed the petition.
Read "Landmark's letter to the Wisconsin Judicial Commission Calling for Investigations into 29 judges who signed petitions to recall Governor Scott Walker" here.
Published reports indicate that 29 Wisconsin circuit court judges appear to have violated the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct by improperly engaging in partisan political activity. Pursuant to Wis. Stat. Sections 757.81 to 757.99 2011), Landmark Legal Foundation respectfully requests that the Wisconsin Judicial Commission conduct an immediate investigation into this important and timely matter and take all appropriate disciplinary action, including reprimand, censure, suspension, and removal.
...An immediate investigation into the conduct of each of the signatory judges will also determine whether he or she is currently presiding over any cases in which Governor Walker or his administration is a party requiring recusal and whether disciplinary action is appropriate. According to the Gannett investigation, the circuit court judges who have signed the recall petition include:Mark Warpinski
Don Zvidmulder
Charles F. Kahn, Jr.
D. Todd Ehlers
J. David Rice
Andrew Bissonnette
Bonnie Gordon
Carl Ashley
Dale Pasell
Daniel George
David Flanagan
Dennis Cimpl
Gerald Wright
James Czajkowski
Michael Dwyer
James Duvall
Jane Carroll
Jean DiMotto
John Anderson
John Damon
Karen Christenson
Marshall Murray
Michael Rosborough
Pedro Colon
Ramona Gonzalez
Thomas Lister
Todd Bjerke
Tom Wolfgram
Mary Kuhnmuench
...The public endorsement of Governor Walker's recall warrants a full and immediate investigation into each of the 29 circuit court judges who reportedly signed the petition. The endorsement of sitting elected official's removal by recall election is no different than the endorsement of a candidate for office. At a minimum, however, signing the recall petition gives the appearance of a political endorsement, which violates SCR 60.02.
In addition to the apparent violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct political activity prohibition, the Commission should determine whether any of these judges are currently presiding over cases in which Governor Walker or his administration are parties. If so, recusal must be required immediately and any failure by a judge to have already disclosed his or her apparent conflict of interest should be investigated separately by the Commission.
The Commission should send a strong message to the Wisconsin judiciary that violating the Code of Judicial Conduct in this manner will not be tolerated. Landmark respectfully requests that the full range of sanctions be considered for these egregious ethical violations including as appropriate reprimand, censure, suspension, and removal.
Thank you, Landmark Legal Foundation, for standing up for justice and the people of Wisconsin.
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UPDATE, March 21, 2012: Landmark Legal Foundation seeks investigation of 29 judges who signed petitions to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker
2 comments:
Would this count as one of those out of state groups that the gov says should butt out?
No. No, it would not.
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