The Wisconsin Judicial Commission charged Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman with judicial misconduct Tuesday for financing a false television advertisement aired during his campaign in March 2008.
According to the complaint, Gableman misrepresented his opponent, Justice Louis Butler, in an advertisement knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth.""
The ad, which according to the complaint, was personally reviewed by Gableman, accused Butler of direct involvement in the release of Reuben Lee Mitchell, a child molester.
After reviewing Butler's involvement in Mitchell's case, both the state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals found that Butler was not involved in Mitchell's release, the complaint stated.
The commission found Gableman had no reason to believe, at the time the advertisement was aired, Butler had any responsibility or involvement in Mitchell's release and later crime.
Following the commission's April 2008 initial investigation of the matter, Gableman submitted a written response and appeared before a counsel in August 2008.
Upon review, the commission found probable cause that Gableman willfully violated the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct that prohibits judicial candidates from misrepresenting their opponents, according to the complaint.
Darrin Schmitz, a spokesperson for Gableman, said in a statement the commission is disregarding Gableman's First Amendment rights to free speech.
""The commission chose to ignore the plain language of the ad, which is factual,"" Schmitz said. ""Instead, the complaint alleges that the ad contains false statements on the basis of inference and implication.""
Review of Gableman's actions marks the second case in the past year the commission has investigated justices' violation of judicial law.
In 2007, the commission found Justice Annette Ziegler violated ethics laws when she presided over cases for which she had a conflict of interest.
Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Mike McCabe, said he is not surprised by the Supreme Court's recent discipline of two justices in a matter of months.
""I think it's a direct result of the breakdown of our judicial elections and the poisoning of election campaigns for Supreme Court that we've seen in these last two races,"" McCabe said.
The Court of Appeals will select a Judicial Conduct Panel to hear the complaint against Gableman. The panel will then review the case and report its findings to the Supreme Court, which will issue a final decision.
