On Wednesday, the Republican State Assembly Speaker of Wisconsin disclosed the establishment of a committee tasked with evaluating the standards for the impeachment of a state Supreme Court justice with liberal affiliations.
The group selected by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos comprises three individuals who have previously served as justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. However, Speaker Vos has opted to withhold the identities of these individuals until the panel concludes its assigned tasks. According to The Associated Press, the panel is currently investigating Justice Janet Protasiewicz on her remarks concerning the Republican redistricting maps in the state, as well as the financial contributions she got from the Democratic Party.
During her electoral campaign, Protasiewicz made assertions on the alleged manipulation of current maps, characterizing them as “rigged.” Additionally, she obtained a financial contribution of approximately $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
Vos expressed his continued optimism on the legitimacy of the maps in his statement to WISN 12 News. “I’m still optimistic the maps we have are totally legit. I think Justice Protasiewicz should recuse herself because she has biased herself in the process.”
Republicans, who’ve been ramping up their efforts to interfere in Wisconsin elections, are now demanding Legislature-picked and Legislature-approved map drawers for legislative districts. That’s bogus.
Read my full statement https://t.co/AVCRosMsvQ pic.twitter.com/kttVVS1QJ7
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) September 12, 2023
According to the Associated Press, “Gov. Tony Evers said he would veto the plan and advocates criticized it because it gives the Legislature the ability to draw maps if those created by the nonpartisan staff are rejected two times. Vos called that argument a “red herring.””
“If somehow you think we’re going to sneak through a Republican map that has some kind of favor and get Tony Evers’ signature on it, I think you’re smoking something,” Vos said Wednesday on WisconsinEye. ”It’s not going to happen.”
Vos said that offering the redistricting bill was an “off-ramp” to impeachment, which he called a “last option.”
“They’re making it seem like I’m foaming at the mouth to have an impeachment process,” Vos said on WISN-AM where he announced the formation of the impeachment review panel. “But that is the last thing I want to have happen which is why we have taken what I would say is a pretty radical step to offer a different path.”
Protasiewicz joined the court on Aug. 1, flipping majority control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court from conservative to liberal for the first time in 15 years.
Republicans have called on Protasiewicz to recuse herself from a pair of Democratic-backed redistricting lawsuits seeking to overturn GOP-drawn maps. Republicans argue that she can’t fairly hear the cases because she called the current maps “unfair” and “rigged” during the campaign and accepted nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party.
She has yet to decide on recusal in those cases. But she did recuse from another lawsuit filed this week asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block any attempts by the Legislature to impeach Protasiewicz. It is up to each justice to decide whether to recuse from a case.
The electoral victory of Protasiewicz in the May election resulted in the liberals attaining a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, marking the first instance of such a majority in a span of 15 years. The liberal justices swiftly implemented alterations within the court, prompting Chief Justice Annette Ziegler to level accusations against the court’s liberal majority, alleging a “coup.”
The AP added “Republicans have called on Protasiewicz to recuse herself from a pair of Democratic-backed redistricting lawsuits seeking to overturn GOP-drawn maps. Republicans argue that she can’t fairly hear the cases because she called the current maps “unfair” and “rigged” during the campaign and accepted nearly $10 million from the Wisconsin Democratic Party.”
She has yet to decide on recusal in those cases. But she did recuse from another lawsuit filed this week asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to block any attempts by the Legislature to impeach Protasiewicz. It is up to each justice to decide whether to recuse from a case.
The Wisconsin Constitution allows for the process of impeachment solely in cases involving corrupt conduct while in office or the commission of a criminal offense. The process of impeachment in the Assembly requires a simple majority, but conviction in the Senate necessitates a two-thirds majority.
The Republican party now maintains a majority of 64 seats out of 99 in the Assembly, and a two-thirds majority of 22 seats out of 33 in the Senate. The significant majorities were established based on the redistricting efforts conducted in 2011, which are widely regarded as highly gerrymandered and have been sustained by the state Supreme Court during a period of conservative leadership.
In the event that Protasiewicz were to be impeached by the Assembly, she would be prohibited from fulfilling any responsibilities as a justice until the Senate took appropriate action. This measure has the potential to prevent her from participating in redistricting decisions, while avoiding the need for her removal from office and subsequent appointment of a replacement by Democratic Governor Tony Evers.
In the event that she is found guilty by the Senate or voluntarily steps down from her position, and if a vacancy arises prior to December 1st, this would initiate an April election to appoint a successor who would serve the remaining duration of her ten-year tenure. Protasiewicz became victorious in the electoral contest held in April, securing a substantial lead of 11 percentage points.
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