Justice Janet Protasiewicz rejects calls to recuse herself from redistricting cases

MADISON - The Wisconsin Supreme Court's newest justice has rejected calls from Republican legislative leaders to recuse herself from two lawsuits before the court involving the state's legislative maps, which she has described as "rigged" — a decision the Assembly speaker warned could push him to start unprecedented impeachment proceedings.

Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz released her decision just before the four liberal justices who control the state's highest court agreed over objections from conservative justices to take up one of the lawsuits that is aimed at undoing the current legislative maps that give Republicans an advantage in the statehouse.

Protasiewicz issued the order announcing her decision late Friday afternoon in response to requests from Republican lawmakers asking her to recuse from the cases because of her comments during a spring campaign for her seat. The lawmakers argued her comments amounted to pre-judging the cases.

"Recusal decisions are controlled by the law. They are not a matter of personal preference. If precedent requires it, I must recuse. But if precedent does not warrant recusal, my oathbinds me to participate," Protasiewicz wrote in an order released Friday evening.

"Strict adherence to the law is especially important here. This recusal motion has been filed by a co-equal branch of government. I take its request seriously. I also appreciate that this motion has engendered strong feelings in some quarters among people of good faith."

Protasiewicz said she "searched the law books — and my conscience — to ensure a correct and impartial ruling." In her order, she cites conservative jurists including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley and former justice David Prosser.

Republican lawmakers have raised the prospect of impeaching Protasiewicz if she does not step away from challenges to the state's electoral maps that are currently under the court's consideration, arguing she is biased because she called the maps "rigged" on the campaign trail and received about $10 million from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Protasiewicz defeated conservative Daniel Kelly by 11 points in the April election, flipping control of the court 4-3 in favor of liberals when she assumed the bench in August.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos first warned Protasiewicz in August that if she did not recuse from redistricting cases he might take the unprecedented step of initiating impeachment proceedings against her.

Earlier this week, Vos told WKOW if Protasiewicz did not recuse, "the legislature will take the appropriate actions to make sure that the laws are followed."

A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday evening.

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At the same time, none of the 64 Republican members of the Assembly committed to voting "yes" to impeach Protasiewicz when surveyed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last month. All 35 Democratic members have pledged to vote no, and one Republican — Rep. Scott Johnson of Jefferson — has joined in that decision.

Protasiewicz said recusing from a case that does not involve the Democratic Party of Wisconsin as a litigant based on donations the justice received during her campaign, as Republicans have argued she ought to do, would be "unprecedented."

"... this original action petition has been filed by citizens who allege violations of their own individual rights. Those citizens, moreover, are not mere stand-ins for a political party," Protasiewicz wrote. "As voters, they claim to advance legal interests in excluding partisan influence of all kinds from the districting process. Taken at face value, those interests may, in some circumstances, contradict the interests of the DPW."

Protasiewicz said agreeing to recuse based on the Republicans' argument would "raise a swarm of continuing difficulties for each justice," citing contributions her colleagues have received from political parties and partisan groups.

"We would be flooded with requests for 'conservative' or 'liberal' justices to recuse whenever a case involved issues of great social or political importance to any major campaign funder," she wrote.

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Protasiewicz also suggested Republicans were not considering the full scope of her characterizations of the state's electoral maps.

"While making many of the statements that the Legislature spotlights, I also emphasized that these were descriptions of my personal 'values,' not pledges of 'what I'm going to do on a particular case,'" she wrote.

"Elsewhere, I explained: 'I plan to follow the law. I tell you what my values are because I think that Supreme Court candidates should share with the community and the electorate what their values are. Nonetheless, I will uphold the law (and) follow the Constitution when I make any decisions. Nothing is prejudged."

Vos has sought legal opinions from former state Supreme Court justices whom he has not named on whether to impeach Protasiewicz. Liberal watchdog group American Oversight has sued the alleged panel of justices and Vos over the matter, citing a lack of transparency.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Protasiewicz rejects calls to recuse herself from redistricting cases