MADISON, Wis. – Law Forward’s President and General Counsel Jeff Mandell issued the following statement after the court-appointed referee published his report and recommendation, which accepts the Office of Lawyer Regulation’s settlement proposal of a three-year law license suspension for former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. It is now up to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has final authority for all attorney discipline in the state, to review and consider this recommendation:
“Law Forward developed the 100-page complaint that triggered this disciplinary review in 2023. As our grievance makes clear, this is not your ordinary disciplinary case.
“In June 2021, months after the Wisconsin Supreme Court declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election, and fifteen hours after Donald Trump accused Wisconsin politicians of an election cover-up, Michael Gableman was hired to investigate.
“Mr. Gableman, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, pursued his sham investigation for over a year. Along the way, he attempted to jail duly elected mayors, misled the public, courts, and legislative bodies, and violated open government laws – along with every provision of his oath as an attorney. Law Forward won a lawsuit against Mr. Gableman in 2022 when he abused his subpoena authority in an effort to silence and intimidate voters of color. And we successfully fought off his effort to jail the mayors.
“Mr. Gableman acted with complete indifference to Wisconsin law and ethics in his baseless attempt to overturn the results of an officially certified election. In so doing, he jeopardized the rule of law and our foundational constitutional order. This is an extraordinarily serious offense that cuts to the heart of our democracy.
“At Law Forward, we believe a three-year suspension is not enough. Mr. Gableman deserves to face the strongest penalty our ethics rules will allow. Anything less minimizes the gravity of his offensive behavior and lacks deterrent effect. Wisconsin attorneys must understand that engaging in unethical conduct to overturn the will of voters will not be tolerated, regardless of who the actor is.
“Law Forward will be pressing the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take decisive action to revoke Mr. Gableman’s license to practice law.”
