MADISON, Wis. (Legal Newsline) - A behind-the-scenes power struggle at the Wisconsin Supreme Court has made its way public, as Chief Justice Annette Ziegler is alleging the new liberal majority is attempting to rewrite the way business is conducted.
Ziegler issued a press release Aug. 4 that calls the four liberals "rogue justices" who are attempting to a coup. The controversy comes months after Janet Protasiewicz was elected in a contentious race with conservative Dan Kelly, giving liberals a 4-3 edge (Wisconsin justices are not designated "Democrat" or "Republican").
Kelly called Protasiewicz a "serial liar" after the April election. That same day, the court handed down a decision in a lawsuit over fees for electronic medical records that split the liberals and conservatives.
Conservatives who dissented called it a "remarkable misconception of democracy" that upheld "tyranny."
Now, the issue is what Ziegler called "a secret, unscheduled, illegitimate closed meeting" attended by the four liberal justices that aimed to strip the chief justice of some of her authority.
"Court business concerning Internal Operating Procedures and Supreme Court Rules is conducted when seven members of the court convene with an agenda prepared by the Chief Justice and at a time set by the Chief Justice during the court's business year, which is September-June," Ziegler said in a statement.
"The rogue justices' attempt to go outside of this recognized procedure is an imposition of will and a faw exercise of overreaching power. Any such attempted action is illegitimate and unenforceable."
Ziegler attached changes proposed by the liberals to Supreme Court rules. They would create a Supreme Court administrative committee that would now, among other duties, oversee the director of state courts, rather than the chief justice and the rest of the court.
Ziegler worries two of the three-person committee would be appointed by the majority, giving one side a chance to stack the committee. Wisconsin Right Now noted the chief justice would lose authority involving juvenile petitions to waive parental consent for abortions.
Abortion was a main topic in the Protasiewicz-Kelly election, as liberals from around the country funded Protasiewicz's campaign with the hopes abortion rights would be preserved in the near future.
One liberal justice - Rebecca Frank Dallet - released public statements of her own in response to Ziegler's allegations. She claimed Ziegler failed to participate in a "scheduled meeting" to discuss changes to the court's internal operating procedures - a meeting Ziegler had failed to put on the calendar despite two prior requests to do so.
"In a continued effort to compromise and to respect and accommodate everyone's calendar, the Chief Justice was asked if there was any date in August when the court could meet," Dallet wrote.
"We tried to reach common ground with the Chief Justice. She flatly refused to schedule a court conference for any date in August. There appears to be no interest in reaching compromise."
Ziegler has scheduled a meeting for Sept. 7, and Dallet says she hopes to discuss the proposed changes there.
For now, it appears that at least physical violence has not broken out among the justices. More than a decade ago, it was reported Justice David Prosser put Ann Kelly in a chokehold during an argument.