Senate committee takes up appointments to judicial commission amid Supreme Court tensions
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MADISON – State senators on Tuesday questioned members of a commission on judicial ethics how the panel handles the issue of recusal when a judge has commented publicly on a case.
Republicans on the Senate committee asked about judicial ethics and appeared to reference newly sworn-in liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s public comments that the state’s electoral maps are “rigged.” The high court is now considering taking up lawsuits that could overturn the maps.
The Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety asked those questions as they took up the appointments of Judy Ziewacz, Mary Beth Keppel and Janet Jenkins. The three members have been serving on the state Judicial Commission since 2021 and 2022 but were never confirmed by the Senate.
The committee did not vote on the appointments Tuesday. The full Senate would make a final decision whether to confirm or reject their appointments. A spokesman for Senate Majority Devin LeMahieu did not immediately say whether and when the Senate would hold a confirmation vote.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine told reporters after the hearing that he was impressed with the appointees' responses but said the committee will review their testimony before meeting in an executive session for votes.
Wanggaard, who chairs the committee, said Protasiewicz should recuse herself from cases on which she commented on previously, including a redistricting lawsuit.
"She said a lot of things while she was running. She said a lot of things after she was elected," he said. "When you say you're going to lean one way or the other before it's even come out, that's prejudicial. We'll have to see how that all pans out."
More: Vos says lawmakers may consider impeachment if Protasiewicz doesn't recuse from redistricting cases
Jenkins told lawmakers Tuesday that judges can share their opinions on political issues but cannot say how they will rule on a case before hearing it. Ziewacz and Keppel echoed Jenkins’ assertion in their testimonies.
"Judges have the First Amendment right to express their beliefs,” Jenkins said. “A lot of times, people think recusal is necessary when it's not provided for by statute or by rule.”
The governor appoints nonlawyer members to the commission, but the three were never confirmed by the Senate. The Republican-led Senate has routinely not held confirmations for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointments to state agencies and boards.
Sen. Eric Wimberger, R-Green Bay, asked if Jenkins and other nominees would be able to continue serving on the commission after their terms expire. He referenced a recent Supreme Court ruling that allowed an appointee of former Gov. Scott Walker to serve on a state board past his term as long as the Senate did not hold confirmation hearings for another appointee.
Jenkins said she did not believe the ruling applied to her and said she would be removed from her post if not confirmed by the Senate, while Keppel said she was unsure if that was the case.
Senators also narrowed in on past donations commissioners made to judicial campaigns and other statewide races, including past donations Keppel made to liberal Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky.
All three judges said they were careful to recuse when necessary, and Keppel said she recused herself from a past case involving Karofsky because of past donations.
Three members appointed by governor, never confirmed by Senate
The Judicial Commission is responsible for handling ethical complaints brought against justices and judges on Wisconsin courts, including the state Supreme Court. Judicial misconduct can include failure to perform duties impartially and diligently or failure to recuse from a case based on a conflict of interest.
Randy Koschnick, former director of state courts, submitted complaints to the commission last week against the four liberal state Supreme Court justices as well as Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Audrey Skwierawski, arguing her appointment to the director position was unconstitutional.
The court’s liberal justices fired Koschnick and appointed Skwierawski after taking control of the court’s majority earlier this month. Conservative justices said the move was politically motivated.
The commission has nine members, four of whom are appointed by the Supreme Court. Five nonlawyer members are appointed by the governor with Senate approval. Ziewacz, Keppel and Jenkins are all nonlawyer members.
Members may serve no more than two three-year terms in a row. They can continue to serve until successors are reappointed.
Keppel joined in January 2022 and Jenkins began serving in June 2022. Ziewacz has served on the commission since December 2021. An aide for Wanggaard said the committee would hold hearings for the governor's two other appointments at a later date.
Ziewacz, from Monona, has worked in state and federal government and headed organizations for cooperatives and credit unions.
Senators also questioned her role as treasurer for the board of Law Forward, a liberal-leaning law firm that focuses on voting issues. Ziewacz said she is not involved in deciding what cases to pursue.
While Wanggaard said after the hearing that Ziewacz's involvement with Law Forward was "a little problematic," he said the appointees' answers were reasonable.
"All in all, I thought they were pretty forthcoming," Wanggaard said. "Each one of these individuals, if you look at their background and you look at what they have done in service, they are stellar."
Keppel, from Madison, retired from law in 2012. She was a Dane County prosecutor and past president of the Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. Keppel also served on the board that evaluates lawyers seeking admission to the bar and grades bar exams.
Jenkins, from Fitchburg, retired from law in 2016. She served in state government and was part of a Supreme Court committee to review the Code of Judicial Conduct.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Senators question unconfirmed judicial commission appointees
