A Motion to Disqualify two Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice Jill Karofsky, for unprecedented publicly stated bias against a Defendant was filed on February 27th. The proceedings in question involve allegations against one of President Trump’s 2020 attorneys, former Judge James Troupis, and have garnered national attention as partisan Lawfare by Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul against his opponents. Karofsky has come under similar criticism for making politically charged comments to The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week about Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar, who is running for a seat on the high court.
Chief Justice Jill Karofsky and Justice Rebecca Dallet have openly stated their bias against former Judge Troupis, and even the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, an independent judicial body, admonished the Chief Justice for her remarks. Both Justices made personally disparaging attacks against former Judge Troupis from the bench and repeated those remarks on podcasts and in press releases.
On multiple occasions in the last 5 years, Karofsky has accused Troupis of “racism”, being “un-American” and being in service to his “king”. Even after the Judicial Commission action against her for improper “sarcastic” remarks from the bench, Karofsky doubled down and appeared on media broadcasts to repeat her accusations against Troupis, going so far as to issue a press release challenging the Judicial Commission for calling out her inappropriate behavior.
Justice Dallet has mimicked Karofsky’s accusations of racism and added to them, calling Troupis “partisan” and “divisive.” In the Motion for Recusal, attorneys for Troupis argue that both Justices have demonstrated they cannot be unbiased in dealing with any case involving former Judge Troupis.
“Because of these statements, the Due Process Clause, the Wisconsin Statutes, and the Judicial Code require Chief Justice Karofsky and Justice Dallet to step aside. Their statements establish not only the appearance of bias but actual bias”
Courts have long held that all Judges, without exception, must recuse themselves from a case if they are biased and, more importantly, must disqualify themselves if there is any “appearance of bias.”
Troupis faces criminal allegations in a politically charged case involving the 2020 Presidential election and the Wisconsin alternate elector certificate submitted to Congress in accordance with the Electoral College Act of 1887. Troupis, a well-known Wisconsin attorney and former judge, represented President Trump in the official recount. Numerous public figures and editorials, including editorials in the Wall Street Journal, have called out the case as an example of lawfare against conservatives.
All court filings are freely available to the public at www.judgetroupis.com.