Maryann Sumi
Maryann Sumi was a judge for the Dane County Circuit Court, Branch 2, in Dane County, Wisconsin.[1] She was first appointed to the court in 1998, then won election in 1999 and 2005. Her term would have expired in 2017, but Sumi retired from the court on May 30, 2014.[2][3]
Education
Sumi received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1976.[2]
Career
Prior to her appointment, Sumi served as an assistant attorney general for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. She also previously was an executive assistant for the Department of Natural Resources.[2]
Awards and associations
- Associate Dean, Wisconsin Judicial College
- Member, Criminal Jury Instructions Committee [2]
2011 election
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2011
Sumi was re-elected to the Dane County Circuit Court after running unopposed.[4]
Noteworthy cases
Collective bargaining
In March 2011, Judge Sumi declared an injunction against publishing the Wisconsin State Legislature's bill that eliminates collective bargaining for public employees. She found that legislators broke the state's Open Meetings Law, and therefore granted a restraining order against the Secretary of State's publishing of the bill. Regardless of Judge Sumi's ruling, the Secretary for the Department of Administration said that the state considers the collective bargaining restrictions to be law.[5]
On May 26, 2011, Sumi struck down the legislative actions leading to the bill eliminating public employee collective bargaining on the grounds that it violated the state's Open Meetings Law.[6][7]
- Read the text of her ruling here: State of Wisconsin vs. Fitzgerald et al (dead link)
The state's Department of Justice and Department of Administration appealed the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On June 14, 2011 the Supreme Court overturned Sumi's ruling, saying in part that it had "usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin Constitution grants exclusively to the Legislature."[8]
- Read the text of the Wisconsin Supreme Court's ruling here: State of Wisconsin vs. Fitzgerald et al (June 14, 2011)
Sumi refuses to declare work stoppage a strike
In February 2011, in the middle of a statewide debate regarding labor unions' collective bargaining, Judge Sumi refused the Madison School District's request to send teachers back to work. The district asked the judge to impose a temporary restraining order to bar teachers from participating in further work stoppages. It referred to the teachers' protests in the capital as a strike, which are illegal under state law. The judge refused to categorize the work stoppage as a strike and said that the district could not prove irreparable harm had been caused by the teachers.[9]
See also
External links
- Wisconsin Court System, "Circuit Courts," accessed May 30, 2014
- Dane County, Wisconsin, "Circuit Court Judges," accessed May 30, 2014
- New York Times, "Judge Blocks Wisconsin Law on Union Bargaining," March 18, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ Dane County, Wisconsin, "Circuit Court Judges," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 The New York Times, "Maryann Sumi: Dane County Circuit Judge biography," accessed May 30, 2014
- ↑ Madison.com, "Judge Maryann Sumi retiring after 16 years on bench," May 5, 2014
- ↑ Government Accountability Board, "Offices to be elected at 2011 spring election," accessed May 30, 2014, info dated 11/15/10
- ↑ The Daily Cardinal, "DOA will enforce union law despite injunction," March 31, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "Judge strikes down Walker's collective bargaining law, case moves to state Supreme Court," May 26, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Reporter, "Judge: Collective bargaining bill violated open meetings law," May 26, 2011
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Supreme Court reinstates collective bargaining law," June 14, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, "Judge shoots down effort to force Madison teachers back to class; school expected Tuesday," February 19, 2011
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
