The headline in the Madison Capital Times reads: “Gableman hires anti-abortion attorney to fight ethics charges.” As you may know, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is facing charges from the Wisconsin Judicial Commission for a TV ad he ran during the Spring election. Allegedly, the ad is false, misleading, and deceptive in violation of the Judicial Code of Ethics.
The Capital Times reports:
If there was any question as to where newly elected Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman stands on abortion or, for that matter, on a host of other social issues, his choice of attorney should provide some clues.
Gableman, who is facing charges that he violated the Wisconsin Judicial Code of Conduct during his spring race against incumbent Justice Louis Butler, is being represented by prominent Republican attorney James Bopp Jr. who serves as counsel to the National Right to Life Committee and the James Madison Center for Free Speech.
It is true that Mr. Bopp is a prominent Republican attorney. He is, in fact, a Republican National Committeeman from Indiana. He is also counsel to the National Right to Life Committee and was a life issues adviser to Gov. Mitt Romney.
That is NOT the story, however, because Justice Gableman did not hire Bopp because they are both pro-life. He hired Bopp because Bopp is perhaps the best single attorney in the country for litigating judicial free speech claims. Bopp was counsel to the Republican Party of Minnesota in Republican Party of Minnesota v. White, 536 U.S. 765 (2002), the leading US Supreme Court decision on judicial free speech. Since then, Bopp has argued a number of other judicial free speech cases, including Duwe v. Alexander, a Western District of Wisconsin case that held a different part of the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Ethics unconstitutional. Bopp is also currently litigating Siefert v. Alexander, a challenge to the Code’s ban on judges belonging to political parties. He also has several publications to his credit on this specific issue.
Bopp also has four other Supreme Court oral arguments and scores of federal appellate cases to his credit in other free speech cases. In other words, the story is NOT that Gableman hired a conservative lawyer. The story is that Gableman hired a free speech fighter, rather than a Wisconsin ethics conciliator. Gableman could have hired a Wisconsin attorney who was an expert in Wisconsin legal ethics and sought a settlement with the Judicial Commission. He could have figured out a way to plead something like nolo contendere, maybe pay a fine and accept a reprimand, etc. Instead, Gableman hired a First Amendment fighter who is experienced in taking cases to the Supreme Court of the United States.
David Ziemer from the Wisconsin Law Journal also says that the Cap Times missed the story.
Last 5 posts by Daniel- Tom Barrett's Savings Plan - June 8th, 2010
- C.J. Abrahamson on J. Stevens - April 11th, 2010
- Why always Bill Bablitch? - March 24th, 2010
- Suhr on Nixon on Health Care - February 23rd, 2010
- Did the USCCB Foresee Dead People? - February 8th, 2010
Can we trade Bopp for Gableman on the Supreme Court and then drop the case? Bopp has a brain while Gableman is an idiot. Students who want to go to law school generally go to the best place they get accepted. Apparently Gableman wasn’t qualified to attend the state’s top rated law school or Marquette, so he ended up at the diploma mill law school in Minnesota. Not even Billy Mitchell — he ended up at Hamline, which was started about 20 years ago to provide an avenue for students too dumb to get into Billy Mitchell. Now we’re stuck with the dolt for 10 years. Again, can’t be dump Gableman and seat Bopp?
Judge Randy Koschnick went to Hamline, too.
Wow — “the cradle of Supreme Court Justices”!
Also, is it true that Koschnick handled the appeal for cop-killed Ted Oswald? If so, he’s going to have a lot of ‘splaining to do!
Good post Daniel. Once again the Cap Times completely slants the story.