'An unprecedented coup': Ziegler fires back at court's liberals, vows to post court director job

MADISON – Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Annette Ziegler plans to post a job listing for the director of the state courts system, despite the position being filled earlier this month by the court's new liberal majority.

It's the latest development in a saga that has divided the state's high court since liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in on Aug. 3.

Ziegler, a conservative, notified her fellow justices, along with current state courts director Audrey Skwierawski, of her decision in an email Monday, calling the liberal justices' actions this month "nothing short of an unprecedented coup."

She was later criticized by liberal Justice Rebecca Dallet for what Dallet called a "deeply inappropriate, and at times partisan, tone and tenor" in an email obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"We need a Director of State Courts, and I will have that position posted for a nationwide search, as we did last time. I have checked with the previous Director and the job description is accurate.  I will add this to an upcoming agenda for further discussion," Ziegler wrote.

Randy Koschnick, who had served as state courts director since 2017, was ousted from the role by the court's liberal bloc when Protasiewicz started her 10-year term. The liberal justices appointed Skwierawski, a Milwaukee County circuit judge, to replace him on an interim basis.

Skwierawski is taking a leave of absence from her judicial post in order to serve as courts director. She was appointed to her seat in 2018 by former Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Dallet responded to Ziegler late Monday evening.

"I am incredibly disappointed that you have chosen to play games in the media rather than communicate with members of the court privately through our procedures, or with the Director of State Courts throughout the month (despite numerous requests to do so)," Dallet said in an email obtained by the Journal Sentinel.

Koschnick has filed complaints since his firing with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission against Justices Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet, Jill Karofsky and Protasiewicz, as well as Skwierawski. Ziegler has said the decision to appoint Skwierawski "was made without regard for the Constitution, case law, or Supreme Court rules."

"Let me be crystal clear," Dallet wrote in response to Ziegler's Monday emails. "The attempt to obstruct the proper business of the court and the furtherance of justice comes from you. Judge Skwierawski tried on many occasions to discuss how the Office of State Courts could better serve the people of our State. You not only refused to meet with her but today you send emails (which are then immediately leaked to the media) falsely accusing her of violating the law for doing her job in keeping the courts running in service to the people of the State of Wisconsin."

Dallet said she would "reluctantly release this email to the public because the people of Wisconsin deserve to hear more than (Ziegler's) inaccurate view of the situation leaked to the media from an email."

"For us to work together collegially, I hope we can begin to utilize the processes that the majority of the court has put forward, including the administrative committee," she wrote, referring to a new body the liberal majority created to carry out duties previously handled by solely by the chief justice..

The state courts director is the chief non-judicial officer of Wisconsin's court system, according to Supreme Court rules. The office oversees court operations across the state including developing the court system's budget, advising the state Supreme Court on how to improve the court system, and supervising technology and continuing education.

Early Monday, Ziegler emailed Skwierawski telling her she did not have Ziegler's permission to sign orders for reserve judges, who are called up when other judges are unavailable.

"You never asked me for permission. You do not have my permission. Stop. These orders are in my name. You have no lawful authority to sign them," Ziegler wrote.

Records show Skwierawski signed off on nearly 30 assignments for reserve judges as early as Aug. 7, days after Protasiewicz was sworn in. Skwierawski argues she was within her rights to do so.

"The four of you secretly and unilaterally hired Judge Skwierawski, without the input or knowledge of any of your remaining colleagues. That has never been how the court conducts its business and her hiring is unauthorized," Ziegler said in a second email, addressed to the entire court and Skwierawski. "I cannot agree that Judge Skwierawski is a duly appointed Director. Her appointment was and is not lawful."

Skwierawski said in a statement earlier this month that she consulted legal experts and carefully read relevant statutes, ethics opinions and past cases to ensure she met the qualifications to serve as courts director. Her research included a 2008 ethics opinion from Republican former Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen — the same opinion both Koschnick and Republican leaders in the Legislature have cited in their claims that Skwierawski's appointment was illegal.

She did not respond to email and text messages from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday, but the Journal Sentinel obtained a copy of Skwierawski's initial response to Ziegler.

"It was good to finally receive an email from you regarding my work as the interim director as we enter my fourth week on the job. As you know I have tried to communicate with you several times," Skwierawski wrote, adding that Monday's email was her first communication with Ziegler since Aug. 7.

"Either you will work with me as the interim Director and therefore we can set up communication between us to achieve things for the people of this state or you do not recognize me as the interim Director and do not intend to work with me under any circumstances. Your actions to date lead inexorably to the latter conclusion," she continued.

In her email, Skwierawski cited a court rule that states the director of state courts "shall have the responsibility and authority regarding the assignment of reserve judges … where necessary to the ordered and timely disposition of the business of the court." Skwierawski said she believed any addition of Ziegler's name to her orders came as a "fill-in done on the back end of the software" after she had signed them.

"I had the legal authority and responsibility as well as the moral obligation to sign the orders for reserve judges," she wrote. "Those orders represent the very real need for the Office of State Courts to ensure that if a judge is ill or has suffered the loss of a spouse, or has some other reason to be absent from the court they do not need to worry about the coverage for their court. And the people who have cases before that judge can count on having their cases heard without serious delays."

Ziegler slams move to limit power of chief justice

Ziegler's email also referenced a vote by the court's liberal bloc to limit her power.

The liberal justices voted Aug. 4 to change the court's rules, including the creation of a new committee composed of the chief justice and two justices picked by the court's majority members.

The liberal justices voted to shift powers from Ziegler to the new committee, in some cases eliminating the chief justice as the sole decisionmaker and instead assigning such jobs to the committee, including overseeing the state courts director, picking members of state-level judicial committees and the planning and policy advisory committee, and reviewing the court system's budget, among other matters.

"For 40 years, the role of the Chief Justice has been understood and respected. Your short term goals will cause long term, irreparable damage to the judiciary. What a historical disgrace," Ziegler wrote Monday.

"I cannot participate in your illegal experiment," Ziegler continued. "The drastic measures you continue to propose are completely unnecessary and unworkable. Your actions undermine the functioning, consistency and stability that comes from the Chief Justice, not your committee, fulfilling the constitutional responsibility as administrator. You are obstructing the proper functioning of the courts."

At the time of the vote, Dallet said the court's majority "voted ... to advance a number of transparency and accountability measures." The move was "intended to be a first step in making our court more accessible and more accountable to the people of Wisconsin," Dallet said in a statement at the time.

In her Monday night email, Dallet argued the chief justice "is not, and never has been the administrator" of the state Supreme Court, and that the majority rules in its administration.

"You stand in the company of equals and your vote does not count extra (let alone prevail against four other votes)," Dallet wrote. "For that reason, there is no conceivable argument that the constitution gives you any authority over, for example, our court’s schedule — a power that now belongs to the administrative committee. Whether you like it or not is irrelevant. Your frantic emails and public statements notwithstanding, your power has been limited, in accordance with the constitution, which allows a majority to rule and to develop procedures you must respect."

Hope Karnopp of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Supreme Court feud escalates with Ziegler posting court director's job