Judge Dismisses Watchdog Group's Claim Regarding Possible Impeachment Panel Violates State's Open Meeting Laws

Thursday, November 30th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(AP) A judge has dismissed a liberal watchdog group’s claims that a panel researching the possible impeachment of Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz violated the state’s open meeting laws.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington wrote in his ruling that American Oversight filed its claims prematurely and should have given District Attorney Ismael Ozanne more time to decide whether to launch his own lawsuit.

Remington allowed the group to continue seeking records from the panel, however. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asked former state Supreme Court justices David Prosser, Pat Roggensack and Jon Wilcox in September to advise on whether impeaching current Protasiewicz would be justified.

Protasiewicz is a member of the court’s four-justice liberal majority. Republicans are furious with her after she declared on the campaign trail last year that the Legislature’s GOP-drawn district boundaries are “rigged.”

The high court is currently considering a challenge to the boundaries that could force lawmakers to redraw the maps ahead of the 2024 elections, potentially costing Republicans legislative seats next session. The GOP argues Protasiewicz’s campaign remarks indicate she has prejudged the case.

Prosser and Wilcox both advised Vos in October that Protasiewicz’s campaign remarks don’t rise to an impeachable offense. It’s unclear where Roggensack stands; she has not responded to messages.

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