We Must Get To Bottom Of Wisconsin State Supreme Court Mess

‘Now that the mess has been scattered all over the place let’s make sure we clean it up once and for all.’

Isn’t that a message a parent might make in a rather determined way to a child after something that need not have occurred takes places, and then requires a remedy to make sure it never happens again?

The same parental tone and approach needs to be made by the citizens of Wisconsin to the members of the State Supreme Court.

When I can google the Justice Prosser choke-hold story and find it is making headlines all over the nation then it is time to get this mess investigated and sorted out.

As such, I  am pleased to know that two separate investigations are now underway to ascertain what transpired among the members of the court.

The separate probes are being run by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which oversees the state’s judicial ethics code. The sheriff’s investigation was launched Monday; the commission’s was authorized Friday and publicly acknowledged Monday.

“After consulting with members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I have turned over the investigation into an alleged incident in the court’s offices on June 13, 2011, to Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney,” Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office in a statement acknowledged it was taking over the case, but declined further comment.

All members of the court should bend over backwards to amplify and illuminate the issues that have led for the dysfunctional nature of the court to occur in the first place, and then grow to such an extent as to cause a statewide embarrassment.

This is not a good time for the political and democratic institutions in this state.  All year-long there has been a continuing eroding of confidence and support in the systems that are some of the bedrock foundations of our society.  From legislative rancor to the personal animosity on the court there is much to despair over every morning when reading the newspaper.

And it really must come to an end.

Therefore the parties that are investigating what happened to make Justice Prosser snap must get all the facts and present them to the public.  If there needs to be some house cleaning, or group therapy sessions, or a collective demand to ‘lets play nice’…once thing is clear.  What has been allowed to take place must now end.

No one wants to know that our Supreme Court is making headlines for all the wrong reasons.  Lets move forward aggressively with the investigations and then allow for a complete report to be made public.   There should be no sugar-coating or cosmetics applied.  Let the chips fall where they may. 

The public deserves an honest account of what happened, and how it is to be remedied.

Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, Ann Walsh Bradley Episode Pathetic And Damaging

“The Court is now in session.  Will the law clerks please bring in the med cart.’

That might be the best way to remedy what is happening in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.  The clerks would not only dispense the meds but check under the tongue of those needing a pill to be sure it was taken.  But please, no massaging of the neck to aid with swallowing!

Plainly put, what is now making headlines in Wisconsin is an embarrassment, and it must be throughly examined.    I can not be the only state resident that finds the stories I have read this weekend pathetic, damaging to the court, and to our state’s reputation. 

No one can be pleased.

Perhaps the news of the state budget being passed and signed into law seemed to imply that all the big news had passed.  There were weeks to go until the recall elections, and the state needed something new to be stunned over.  Citizens needed one more institution to view as unworkable, another set of characters to analyze and be concerned about.

When I first was told that Supreme Court Justice Prosser had allegedly placed a choke hold on Justice Bradley I asked my partner if this was an article from The Onion.  There was no way this could be an actual news story.  He read the headline and lead paragraph again, and reminded me that with all that has taken place so far this year nothing is impossible.

This story clearly has legs, and can lead to nothing but more embarrassment for Wisconsin.  As such I am really disheartened as we are not talking about some kids on a playground that need to be sent to their respective corners, but instead two court justices who are professionals that interpret law and make judicial decisions!

If we can not have these folks ‘play nice’ what is the hope for others in society?  I am tired of others around the nation needing to hear these ridiculous stories and have it reflect on this state and those that live here. 

I was deeply embarrassed when stories abounded earlier this year that Prosser had verbally abused Chief Justice Abrahamson, calling her “a bitch“.  That might be the lingo for some hay-seed state, but should not be uttered here in Wisconsin. 

Now we have serious allegations against Prosser of placing a chokehold on another female justice.   It must be investigated and aired so all can know the facts.  There seems to be a very deep and dysfunctional problem at the Supreme Court.  Since the citizens have been dragged into this affair with the airing of these issues we need to now  better understand what in heck is going on.

There can be no waffling with the truth concerning this matter.  Once and for all citizens need to know what is happening with a candidate who campaigned for a ten-year term and then acts like a fool when given the responsibility to sit on the court.

Until this matter is resolved I seriously suggest we get a med cart filled and roll it out for the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice David Prosser Allegedly Grabbed Justice Ann Walsh Bradley Around Neck, Police Called

This is damn serious!

In a past post I lamented the change that is taking place with Supreme Court Justice David Prosser.  At that time I mentioned he was becoming more partisan, and no longer a nice person.

Today comes shocking allegations that Supreme Court Justice David Prosser placed his hands around the neck of a fellow member of the court.

We all recall that Justice Prosser had called Justice Abrahamson a “total bitch”.  Given Prosser’s past behavior with women on the court might it be time for anger management classes?  Might I also ask how Prosser treats his wife?

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers last week, according to several knowledgeable sources.

Details of the incident, investigated jointly by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, remain sketchy. The sources spoke on the condition that they not be named.

They say an argument that occurred before the court’s release of a decision upholding a bill to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public employees culminated in a physical altercation in the presence of other justices. Bradley purportedly asked Prosser to leave her office, whereupon Prosser grabbed Bradley by the neck with both hands.

Justice Prosser, contacted Friday afternoon by the Center, declined comment: “I have nothing to say about it.” He repeated this statement after the particulars of the story — including the allegation that there was physical contact between him and Bradley — were described. He did not confirm or deny any part of the reconstructed account.

Bradley also declined comment, telling WPR, “I have nothing to say.”

The sources say Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs was notified of the incident. One source says Tubbs came in to meet with the entire Supreme Court about this matter. Tubbs, contacted by Wisconsin Public Radio, declined to comment.