Friday, November 13, 2009

Gableman Found Loophole, Is Free To Molest Another Opponent

A headline in this morning's print edition of the Wisconsin State Journal says "Judges: Gableman TV ads OK."

It's hard to reach that conclusion if you actually read the "Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendation" issued yesterday by the three-judge Judicial Conduct Panel that reviewed the judicial misconduct complaint against state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman.

Two of the three judges said the ad in question was plainly misleading with one calling it "deserving of condemnation" but both concluded Gableman could not be punished for it under the state Judicial Code of Conduct because none of the statements in the ad taken alone was objectively false. The third judge disagreed, arguing the whole ad did amount to an outright lie, but nevertheless agreed that the complaint against Gableman should be dismissed because, in his view, the section of the judicial ethics code under which Gableman was charged with judicial misconduct is unconstitutional.

While arguing that a "strict and narrow construction of the reach of the first sentence of SCR 60.06(3)(c)" required the three-judge panel to recommend that the state Judicial Commission's complaint against Gableman be dismissed, Reserve Judge David Deininger wrote: "It is more than a bit ironic that Justice Gableman has been represented in this matter by an able lawyer who, it might be argued, 'found a loophole.'"

Ironic because Gableman's ad said "Louis Butler worked to put criminals on the street. Like Reuben Lee Mitchell, who raped an 11-year-old girl with learning disabilities. Butler found a loophole. Mitchell went on to molest another child."

4 comments:

steve scoll said...

After reading the Findings of Fact related to this decision I'm left with small hope that the aspirations of the general public of Wisconsin for a fair and impartial justice system can be met by an elected judiciary.

Thank you Wisconsin Democracy.

Anonymous said...

What about the ads that Shirley Abrahamson ran falsely claiming that she was tough on crime? I guess that wasn't a big deal because anyone who was familiar with her record knew that was a joke.

Mike McCabe said...

The following letter to the editor by James Engmann of Madison appeared in today's Wisconsin State Journal:

"Witnesses are sworn to 'tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,' the violation of which subjects a witness to a charge of perjury.

I forgot to give my dog his medicine one morning. My dog died. Both of those statements are the truth, but they are not the whole truth because my dog died of cancer six years after the missed pills.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's ad told the truth and nothing but the truth, but it did not tell the whole truth.

So even though the words of the ad, taken together, left a false or misleading impression, the three-judge panel recommended the ethics complaint against Gableman be dismissed.

It's a sad day when judges, not to mention Supreme Court justices, can purposefully tell less than the whole truth and get away with it. If done by a witness in court, that would be cause for a perjury charge."

Anonymous said...

What about the children he will molst pushing his right wing anti american ideals. Espesially when he knows he can lie cheat and steal he is above all law. This shows just how anti American the judiciary is. This is a group of professional civil rights vilator and law violators. The same laws and rights they are paid to protect. What do you call a child predator in Wisconsin. Your Honor or the honorable.