Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman Must Be Removed From Bench

The latest episode that will confront Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman  this week underscores what we already know about this man, and the way he maneuvered himself to sit on the bench.  Frustrations at the court are rising due to Gableman’s statements and actions while running for a seat in 2008.  Based on his campaign, and his lack of comprehending the wrongness of those actions he knowingly took, it is time to have Michael Gableman removed from the Supreme Court.  A three-judge panel now has it in their power to do that very thing. 

Not for the first time do I point out the fact that Justice Michael Gableman is flawed to the point that he is not capable of presiding over cases on the Supreme Court.  I have argued that he is intellectually inferior to the demands that is required to sit on the court.  During the election in 2008  he out-right lied about his opponent, Louis Butler Jr, a tactic that violated the judicial ethic’s code.  Due to that unprofessional and provincial display during his flawed campaign we gained insight into his ‘abilities’, and they were found wanting.  In spite of that, special interest monies and heavy ad buys secured Gableman a seat on the court. 

The unconstructive way in which Gableman conducted his race  was devoid of thinking about the implications for the Supreme Court, or the impact his campaign would have on the issues and decisions that it renders.  Without understanding that he was not running for just any office in the state, but instead was running for the Supreme Court, he allowed his narrow personal interests to supercede the higher requirements for the job.  Many voters during the election recognized this flaw in Michael Gableman.  Problem was not enough across the state understood  why he needed to be left in Burnett County.  With Gableman’s election to the court, also came a raft of concerns.

The ethics case against Gableman that now has been allowed to drag on for far too long has cast a shadow over the Supreme Court.  There needs to be a swift and certain resolution for his reckless disregard for the truth, and his ‘win-at-all-costs’ attitude that made being elected to a seat on the court resemble winning the title of class president in high school.  Gableman cheapened the process, and undermined the Supreme Court.  That should not be allowed to stand.

There needs to come a time when mature and steady hands on the reins apply some power and correct a problem that has taken place.  The three-judge panel needs to rise to the occasion and apply the remedy that is so obviously needed.  Michael Gableman needs to be removed from his seat on the Supreme Court.  This is not to be done for partisan reasons or any personal vendetta.  Instead it should be done because there are lines that should not be crossed, and higher ideals that should never be lowered when one seeks election to the Supreme Court.