Not much of a punishment. That's one reaction to the reprimand of a state Supreme Court Justice. Mike McCabe with the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign , which filed the original complaint against Justice Annette Ziegler, is not surprised by the reprimand, but thinks it indicates a divided court. "The court was obviously divided, and a I think the reprimand was the only things the justices could agree on," says McCabe.
As a circuit court judge, Ziegler violated the code of judicial conduct, presiding over cases involving West Bend Savings Bank, where her husband served on the board. McCabe says attorneys have been treated more harshly, for far less: "they've suspended lawyers for doing nothing more than failing to pay their state bar dues on time." The reprimand by her fellow justices, says McCabe, amounts to a slap on the wrist, or if you like, a note in her personnel file, and he doubts the public will be terribly impressed by the court's action, or that it will restore public confidence in the integrity of Wisconsin's judicial system.