Wisconsin Supreme Court reaches a stalemate
July 5, 2010
Madison, Wisconsin: The Justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a split opinion (3-3) on June 30th regarding alleged code of conduct violations by one of their own, Justice Michael Gableman.
An ethics complaint had been issued against Justice Gableman regarding a 2008 campaign ad against challenger Louis Butler. Since Gableman, as the subject, was recused from the case, the court was reduced to an even number of justices. This resulted in a split between the three more liberal justices, who found Gableman to be guilty of issuing a misleading or false statement against his opponent, and the more conservative justices, who ruled that Gableman was innocent under the First Amendment because his statement, although distasteful, was technically true.
The Citizen Action of Wisconsin, who filed the complaint against Gableman, is seeking a jury trial. However, without a majority opinion, it is unknown what further actions, if any, will be taken. Former Justice Janine Geske said, "I can’t quite fathom where it would go next. You can’t even say who won or who lost."[1]
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