Wisconsin: Lawmaker calls for ouster of Justice Gableman
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/lawmaker-calls-for-ouster-of-justice-gableman/article_01ec3d9c-3c78-11e1-9458-0019bb2963f4.html
Lawmaker calls for ouster of Justice Gableman
A Democratic lawmaker is calling on the Legislature to remove Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman from office, citing his decision to sit on 11 cases involving a law firm that gave him free legal services.
But the resolution by Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, appears unlikely to succeed since removal of the conservative justice would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate and Assembly, where Republicans hold majorities.
Such a move also would be unprecedented, said James Alexander, executive director of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which investigates alleged judicial ethics violations, including a pending complaint against Gableman for his financial arrangement with Michael Best & Friedrich. "There was an impeachment trial in the 19th century in which the judge prevailed," Alexander said. "I know of no other legislative attempts at impeachment or address of the Legislature."
Roys, who is running to replace U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, in Congress, is proposing removal by "address," which entails presenting the allegations to Gableman and allowing him "an opportunity to be heard." Impeachment requires a trial before the state Senate.
Never a boring minute in Wisconsin.