Conflicting Reports

According to reports in the WSJ , Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler failed to recuse herself in some 46 cases involving the bank at which her husband served as a paid member of the Board of Directors. Under the Code of Judicial Conduct, Ziegler, currently a Washington County circuit court judge, that's a clear conflict of interest and she had a mandatory duty to either recuse herself or disclose the conflict to the parties. Only the parties may waive the her conflict of interest.

Ziegler now claims she uses a 'gut check' to see if she can rule without bias. First, the rule does not allow her to make that call. Only the parties can waive her conflict of interest. Second, she misses the point. Her actions create the appearance of impropriety. The reports quote some of the participants in these cases and they, not surprisingly, feel like they had no chance to get a fair hearing from her.

The preamble to the judges Code of Judicial Conduct emphasizes that "judges...must respect and honor the judicial office as a public trust and strive to enhance and maintain confidence in our legal system. The judge is...a highly visible symbol of government under the rule of law...The rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct are authoritative."

Ziegler is running against Madison attorney Linda Clifford for the open seat created by the retirement of conservative Jon Wilcox. Clifford's campaign has been slow off the mark, probably due to a well-founded fear of being outspent by out-of-state right-wing activists down the stretch.

Ziegler's conduct disqualifies her from sitting on the bench. It seems entirely possible that she may face charges before the Judicial Commission and wouldn't that be a fine way to start her term on the Supreme Court? Oh, and who makes the final decision on charges brought by the Judicial Commission? You guessed it - the Wisconsin Supreme Court. I'm guessing even Ziegler would recuse herself from that case.