The Wisconsin Supreme Court has a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years, and the left has wasted little time in trying to exploit its new power.
Within a few days of taking her seat on the bench, liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz and the four other radical left judges made the unprecedented power grab of voting to fire the director of the state courts — an action that moved the state’s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Annette Ziegler, to write an email to the left-wing majority accusing the justices of staging a coup.
“You are making a mess of the judiciary, the court, and the institution for years to come,” Ziegler wrote to her fellow justices and newly installed state court director Audrey Skwierawski. “This must stop… I have no confidence in the recent hostile takeover and the chaotic effect it has had on the court, staff, and the overall stable functioning of the courts.”
Ziegler ordered the puppet state court director not to issue any more orders without her knowledge and approval. It seems that most of the responsibilities the court director had taken on were previously the responsibility of the chief justice.
In their first week in power, the liberal justices voted to fire the state court director, hire Skwierawski and create a committee to do much of the work that the chief justice had done, a move that significantly weakened Ziegler. She was elected by the conservative majority to a second two-year term as chief justice in May.
Justice Rebecca Dallet, one of the four liberals, responded to Ziegler late Monday by saying she was “disappointed” that Ziegler was communicating through the media with a “deeply inappropriate, and at times partisan, tone and tenor.”
“Inappropriate”? “Partisan”? Dallet defended the actions of the majority, writing, “We are simply creating process so that a majority of the court can effectively work in the face of an intransigent and uncollegial chief who apparently insists on a public debate about issues for political purposes, rather than allow a court majority to function as it always has.”
In other words, “We’re not doing anything wrong. We’re just shutting down opposition to our policies like any tyrant would do. Besides, referring to the chief justice as ‘intransigent’ and ‘uncollegial’ isn’t partisan at all because we’re Democrats, and resisting anything we want to do is definitely intransigent and uncollegial.”
Ziegler sent Skwierawski, the court director, the email telling her to cease and desist sending orders she’s not authorized to send.
“It has come to my attention that you have been signing my reserve judge orders without my knowledge or approval,” Ziegler wrote in the email. “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. If you have signed anything else under my name, please advise immediately.”
Skwierawski responded to Ziegler, in another email obtained by AP, saying she “vehemently” disagreed that her appointment was illegal. She also defended her action signing orders assigning reserve judges, saying state law clearly gives her that authority.
“I had the legal authority and responsibility as well as the moral obligation to sign the orders for reserve judges,” she told Ziegler.
The “moral obligation”? Well, that cuts it. End of argument. Once a liberal feels she has the “moral obligation” to do anything, all discussion must cease, and the conservative must bend the knee in recognition of that “moral obligation.”
The liberal justices have overstepped their authority, and Ziegler is not going to let them get away with it.
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