Wisconsin Chief Justice Accuses Colleagues Of A ‘Coup’ But It Sounds A Lot More Like She Just Doesn’t Like The Election Results

// The Wisconsin Supreme Court has seemingly devolved into dysfunction after voters shifted the balance of power on the court to the left. Earlier this year, Justice Janet Protasiewicz won a seat on the court and broke 15 years of Republican dominance. Since Democrats now have a 4-3 majority on the court, they made some changes to the operation of the court and Chief Justice Annette Ziegler is not happy about it. Ziegler’s two-year term as Chief began in May, before Protasiewicz joined the court.

As reported by Huffington Post, the liberal majority voted to fire the state court director, hired a new one, Audrey Skwierawski, and created a committee that took away several of the tasks Ziegler used to do. And Ziegler is PISSED. In emails she called the move a “coup” and went on to bash what the liberals had done:

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“You are making a mess of the judiciary, the court and the institution for years to come,” Ziegler wrote to her fellow justices and Skwierawski. “This must stop. … I have no confidence in the recent hostile takeover and the chaotic effect it has had on the court, staff, and the overall stable functioning of the courts.”

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She continued:

“Again, I will not condone such lawless destruction of the constitution, the judiciary, or the court,” Ziegler wrote. “This is nothing short of an unprecedented coup. For 40 years, the role of the Chief Justice has been understood and respected. Your short term goals will cause long term, irreparable damage to the judiciary. What a historical disgrace.”

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Ziegler also went after Skwierawski:

“It has come to my attention that you have been signing my reserve judge orders without my knowledge or approval,” Ziegler wrote in the email. “You never asked me for permission. You do not have my permission. Stop. These orders are in my name. You have no lawful authority to sign them. If you have signed anything else under my name, please advise immediately.”

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But Skwierawski responded with equal vehemence:

Skwierawski responded to Ziegler, in another email obtained by AP, saying she “vehemently” disagreed that her appointment was illegal. She also defended her action signing orders assigning reserve judges, saying state law clearly gives her that authority.

“I had the legal authority and responsibility as well as the moral obligation to sign the orders for reserve judges,” she told Ziegler.

And the new liberal majority was quick to respond to Ziegler’s allegations, defending the moves they made as legal and necessary:

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Justice Rebecca Dallet, one of the four liberals, responded to Ziegler late Monday by saying she was “disappointed” that Ziegler was communicating through the media with a “deeply inappropriate, and at times partisan, tone and tenor.”

Dallet defended actions of the majority justices, saying everything they have done is constitutional.

“We are simply creating process so that a majority of the court can effectively work in the face of an intransigent and uncollegial chief who apparently insists on a public debate about issues for political purposes, rather than allow a court majority to function as it always has,” Dallet said.

Dallet then turned the cause of the dysfunction back on Ziegler. “Let me be crystal clear,” Dallet wrote. “The attempt to obstruct the proper business of the court and the furtherance of justice comes from you.”

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That definitely sounds like a functional working relationship.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].

Topics

Annette Ziegler, Courts, Rebecca Dallet, Wisconsin