Another member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court could face discipline for an ethics violation.
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission says there's probable cause that Justice Michael Gableman violated ethics laws, by falsely claiming in a campaign ad that his opponent freed a child molester using a legal loophole. It marks the second time in a row that a newly elected Justice has faced an ethics complaint. The Supreme Court reprimanded Justice Annette Ziegler earlier this year for hearing cases involving a bank where her husband sat on the board.
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe says the court went 150 years without these concerns, but the politics of judicial elections have gone into the gutter during the most recent races.
McCabe says the state needs to reform the way justices are elected to keep the third party influence out of the process. Otherwise, more violations are likely in the future.
A judicial panel is being asked to determine if Gableman violated ethics rules and if he should face any penalties.
