Some Suggest Justice Ethics Probe Led to Wis. Supremes Slowdown
The pace of rulings by the Wisconsin Supreme Court has slowed, and some suspect an ethics investigation of one of the justices could be to blame.
So far the court has issued 10 rulings this term, compared to its normal pace of 20 rulings, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Some suggest the slowdown could be because of an ethics investigation of Justice Annette Ziegler for presiding over 11 cases as a circuit judge involving a bank where her husband serves as a director. A panel of three appeals judges has recommended a reprimand, the newspaper reports.
Other possible reasons could be the contentious battle for re-election faced by Justice Louis Butler Jr. or the nature of the cases under consideration.
Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said the court has a reputation for being one of the most timely in the country. “Some cases just take longer than other cases,” she told the newspaper.
