Wisconsin Republicans are considering impeaching a newly elected liberal Supreme Court justice in the state over comments she made as a candidate about redistricting and for receiving donations from the state Democratic Party.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos ® announced this week the formation of an impeachment criteria panel as Republicans weigh ousting Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose win in April established a 4-3 liberal majority on the court.
Protasiewicz has yet to hear a case, but the high court was asked in August to hear several cases on Wisconsin’s legislative maps.
Republicans point to previous comments Protasiewicz made about the state’s maps, in which she called calling them “rigged.”
Protasiewicz declined to say during the election how she would rule on the issue, and she has not determined whether she will recuse herself from the case.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos ® announced this week the formation of an impeachment criteria panel as Republicans weigh ousting Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose win in April established a 4-3 liberal majority on the court.
Two recent lawsuits have asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule the entire legislative map for 2024 should be redrawn.
Still, Republicans believe the liberal justice should recuse herself from considering either of the cases, though experts say there are protections in place for judicial candidates to be able to speak on legal issues.
Former conservative state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser confirmed to The Associated Press that Vos had reached out to him.
“I think actually the creation of that panel would seem to slow the timeline for a possible impeachment down, at least a little bit,” Yablon said, adding later, “… [H]e is, it sounds like, going to have these retired judges look into it for maybe several weeks.”
“An emergency, temporary restraining order is warranted in these circumstances as the mere act of an unconstitutional impeachment, even without a conviction, would nullify the vote of over one million Wisconsin voters, including and specifically those of the Petitioners,” it adds.
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