Wednesday, the Republican Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly announced the formation of a committee charged with evaluating the criteria for impeachment of a state Supreme Court justice with liberal affiliations.
Three former justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court compose the group chosen by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Speaker Vos has chosen to conceal the identities of these individuals until the panel has completed its designated duties. According to The Associated Press, the panel is presently investigating Justice Janet Protasiewicz for her comments about the Republican redistricting maps in the state as well as the financial contributions she received from the Democratic Party.
During her campaign, Protasiewicz made claims about the alleged manipulation of current district lines, labeling them “rigged.” In addition, she secured a 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 victory of Protasiewicz in the May election resulted in the liberals attaining a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the first time in 15 years that this has occurred. The liberal justices promptly instituted changes within the court, prompting Chief Justice Annette Ziegler to accuse the liberal majority of the court of 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 impeachment only in cases involving official corruption or criminal activity. Impeachment in the House of Representatives requires a simple majority, whereas conviction in the Senate requires a two-thirds majority.
Currently, the Republican party holds a majority of 64 out of 99 seats in the Assembly and a two-thirds majority of 22 out of 33 seats in the Senate. The substantial majorities were established as a result of the 2011 redistricting efforts, which are widely viewed as highly gerrymandered and have been upheld by the state Supreme Court during a period of conservative leadership.
If Protasiewicz were to be impeached by the Assembly, she would be barred from performing any duties as a justice until the Senate took action. This measure has the potential to prevent her from participating in redistricting decisions without necessitating her removal from office and Tony Evers’ subsequent appointment of a replacement.
In the event that she is found culpable by the Senate or voluntarily resigns from her position prior to December 1, a special election would be held in April to appoint a successor who would serve the remainder of her ten-year term. April’s election resulted in Protasiewicz’s victory with an 11-point margin of victory.