DA asks Wis. Supreme Court to reopen union lawsuit, citing justice’s conflict of interest

[cal04]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/da-asks-wis-supreme-court-to-reopen-union-lawsuit-citing-justices-conflict-of-interest/2011/12/30/gIQATUEDRP_story.html

A prosecutor asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday to reopen his lawsuit challenging Gov. Scott Walker’s contentious collective bargaining law, contending a justice who voted to dismiss the suit earlier this year got free legal help from the firm defending the law.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne argued in filings with the court that it should vacate its earlier decision, reconsider the case and disqualify Justice Michael Gableman from participating if he won’t recuse himself.

Wisconsin’s ethics code prohibits state officials from accepting free gifts, and the judicial ethics code bars judges from accepting gifts from anyone who is likely to appear before them.

“Reasonable, well-informed people would reasonably question Justice Gableman’s ability to be impartial under the facts presented here,” Ozanne wrote. “Respectfully, any litigant in any case deserves to have his case heard by a judge who has not secretly received a valuable gift from the other side’s lawyer.”

Citing Gableman legal work, DA asks justices to reopen bargaining case
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/citing-gableman-legal-work-da-asks-justices-to-reopen-bargaining-case-sk3kl7l-136452808.html
(snip)
Earlier this month, the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich disclosed for the first time that Gableman did not have to pay for two years of legal work the firm did when it represented Gableman in an ethics case. Eric McLeod, the Michael Best attorney who performed the work, also served as an attorney for Walker's administration in the collective bargaining case.

[rfranklin]

1. This is out and out corruption...

as long as instances like this go unpunished we are a corrupt society.

[pacalo]

2. How many of us could get two years of unpaid work from an attorney as a gift or favor?

If the case ended in a split decision, we could just walk away from the bill?

Or do supreme court justices have a separate set of privileges?

[midnight]

3. Reasonable and Well informed people know two years of free legal work is wrong.

It's wrong because first off Gableman is not poor, and secondly his position needs to be free of conflict of interests...

[Bandit]

11. And this unethical behavior was done while fighting ethics charges...

Republicans actually wallow in it don't they?

[AllyCat]

4. Still cannot believe this guy was elected.

His record stinks to high heaven of ethics violations and yet, he gets elected AND off the hook. And now free legal help. Gee, wish I could get free legal help. Oh wait, I'm not rich enough for that.

[Bozita]

5. Bloomberg piece: “Abraham Lincoln wrote that ‘a lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade."

Wisconsin Prosecutor Asks State Court to Void Union Law Ruling
By Karen Gullo and Marie Rohde - Dec 31, 2011 12:01 AM ET


A Wisconsin prosecutor said the state’s highest court should throw out its June ruling upholding legislation curbing public employees’ collective-bargaining rights because one justice failed to recuse himself from the case.

Ismael Ozanne, district attorney in Dane County, which includes Madison, the state capital, alleged in court filings yesterday that Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman received free legal work in an ethics case from a law firm, Michael Best & Friedrich, that assisted state officials in the union law case.

The “unusual” fee arrangement wasn’t disclosed at the time, and Gableman should have recused himself from the case, Ozanne said in filings. He should be disqualified from the case and the high court’s 4-3 decision in June upholding the law should be thrown out, Ozanne said in documents filed with the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

“Abraham Lincoln wrote that ‘a lawyer’s time and advice are his stock in trade,’” Ozanne, a Democrat, said in the filing. “Justice Gableman paid for none of that time or any of that advice, nor does it appear he or MBF intended to do so. Reasonable, well-informed people would reasonably question Justice Gableman’s ability to be impartial under the facts presented here.”

more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-31/wisconsin-prosecutor-asks-state-court-to-void-union-law-ruling.html

[Ellipsis]

6. This article is Front paged "on teh Google" in US News

[99th_Monkey]

8. LINK?

I'd love to see it, and share it with others.

[99th_Monkey]

7. And people wonder, "why is everyone so disillusioned with politics?" ^^^THIS^^^IS^^^THE^^^REASON

[Blue Owl]

9. ...to put it mildly

n/t

[freshwest]

10. Whoa! WTG, Wisconsin! Little by little...

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