Madison, Wis. – A complaint has been filed with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission against Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz for her violations of Wisconsin’s Code of Judicial Conduct in her bid for state Supreme Court. Never before has a candidate so blatantly promised to vote a certain way on so many issues and unethically deprived those who could potentially come before the Court from getting a fair shake.
In her campaign, Protasiewicz has repeatedly put politics and judicial activism above her duty to follow the rules. Already her conduct has caught the attention of one expert in judicial conduct and ethics who has said she would need to disqualify herself from any case concerning legislative redistricting. Now those same arguments can certainly be made for any cases involving Act 10, and likely abortion.
The Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct explicitly prohibits judges from “manifest(ing) bias” and from “pledges, promises or commitments that are inconsistent with the impartial performance.” Despite the clear boundaries of Wisconsin’s Code, Protasiewicz has acquired a dangerous habit of displaying her biases with issues that would come before the court. Protasiewicz has displayed violation after violation repeatedly, including on Capital City Sunday, WISN’s UpFront, in the New York Times, and the WisPolitics forum.
Despite there being no room for personal bias on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Protasiewicz has frequently labeled the legislative maps as “rigged,” shared her prejudice on abortion cases, declared Act 10 unconstitutional, and voiced how she would rule – with a thumb on the scale for issues most important to her far-left agenda.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin released the following statement from Executive Director Mark Jefferson:
“Janet Protasiewicz has decided to disregard her obligation to abide by the Code of Judicial Conduct in her pursuit of a place on the Supreme Court. The Judicial Commission must act and Protasiewicz clearly must recuse herself from participating in cases involving redistricting, abortion and Act 10 union reforms because she’s absolutely unwilling to hear them with an open mind.
A high court candidate has never taken such an extreme stand in defiance of her responsibility to remain unbiased or set aside her personal beliefs on cases set to come before the Court, and Wisconsin deserves much better than the liberal personal agenda of Janet Protasiewicz.”
Read the full complaint here.
