Nearly a week after a three judge panel was announced-and then quickly withdrawn- a second panel (PDF) has been named to hear a complaint against a state supreme court justice.
Appeals court Judges Harry G. Snyder and Ralph Adam Fine, and Reserve Judge David G. Deininger will hear and review the complaint against Justice Michael Gableman. Deininger replaces reserve Judge Neal Nettesheim on the panel which was originally announced last Thursday . Snyder will serve as Presiding Judge as the panel considers a complaint by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, that Gableman violated an ethics rule when his campaign ran a tv ad that made misleading claims about his opponent, Justice Louis Butler.
Gableman has indicated that he'll contest the complaint as a First Amendment case. If the panel rules against him, it will make a recommendation on punishment to his fellow Supreme Court justices. Gableman defeated Butler in April, and was formally sworn in just last Friday.
