Here's a nifty website assembled by our friends at One Wisconsin Now, providing some background and a series of informative links pursuant to the trials and subsequent (and ongoing) tribulations of Wisconsin's newest Supreme Court Justice, Annette K. Ziegler:
Conflicts from A to Ziegler
(Fix the typos, folks!)
Ziegler, who is married to the eponymous wealth management mogul J.J., presided over cases in her previous incarnation as a Washington County Circuit Court Judge, during which she failed on numerous occasions to disclose her financial interests in the parties before her, notably the West Bend Savings Bank, on whose Board of Directors J.J. sits.
Annette Ziegler notoriously referred to her failure to disclose the relationships as the performance of a "gut check," in spite of her reputation among conservative supporters as an alleged "strict constructionist," a judicial disposition which may or may not include for the literal interpretation of State judicial ethics guidelines and related statutory provisions.
Ziegler has since proffered a certain degree of repentance and a specified number of dollars — 17 thousand of them in penalty and costs, to be exact — for violating conflict of interest rules, but isn't out of the thicket yet.
Next Monday, November 19, a public hearing will be held in West Bend in furtherance of this formal request for additional documentation. Justice Ziegler has succeeded in placing her new colleagues on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the distinctly awkward position of potentially subjecting her to further disciplinary action.
The cynical wager, however, is she'll emerge relatively unscathed.
Has this out-of-control judge been dragged through the muck by Nancy Grace, or is that routine reserved for judges who extend due process to accused criminals?
ReplyDeleteI guess because it doesn't feature a microwaved baby.
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