One Wisconsin Now issued a release Tuesday alleging that Supreme Court candidate Michael Gableman violated state judicial code in campaign communications concerning incumbent Louis Butler.
OWN, a non-partisan advocacy organization, asked the newly formed Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee in their statement to examine the campaign's actions. It is the first complaint received by the Integrity Committee since its formation last week.
The JCIC is a seven-member citizen committee that encourage non-partisan civilized campaigning in judicial races.
OWN asked JCIC to examine whether communication from Gableman's campaign violated judicial code about promises and judicial impartiality.
The concern is that the Gableman communication could be construed to be a promise or commitment about issues that may return to the Court,"" Scot Ross, executive director for OWN, said in a statement. ""There are some who might argue the campaign communication implies Gableman is willing to overturn previous judicial precedents.""
The Gableman campaign defended its right to discuss incumbent Justice Louis Butler's anti-law enforcement record. In a statement the campaign said OWN is seeking to ""squash the free speech rights of law enforcement and the Gableman campaign.""
""Judge Gableman is committed to running a campaign based on the candidate's experiences, issues and judicial philosophies,"" said Darrin Schmitz, spokesperson for the Gableman Campaign.
JCIC founder and state Bar President Tom Basting said the JCIC would act quickly to meet and respond after receiving the communication from OWN. The decision will not be binding.
""We aren't judges, we aren't a regulatory body, we are simply there as a group of citizens to look at these materials and to try and keep this campaign on the level that we think it should be,"" he said.
OWN and Butler's campaign could not be reached for comment as of press time.
