Michael Gableman

Michael J. Gableman is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His term began on August 1, 2008 and ends on July 31, 2018.

Biography

Justice Gableman was born in West Allis and raised in Waukesha County. He is a graduate of New Berlin West High School and Ripon College (1988), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and history. After college, Gableman taught American history in the Milwaukee Public School system (1988–1989) before pursuing a legal career. He then taught at Hamline University School of Law as an adjunct professor of law, and continued that role from 2003 to 2005. He often lectures on the dynamics of domestic violence. He was the circuit court judge for Burnett County.^[1]

Race for Wisconsin Supreme Court

The race between Michael Gableman and Louis Butler for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which took place in 2008, was a contentious one. On April 1, 2008, Gableman defeated Butler 51% to 49%, making him the first candidate since 1967 to defeat an incumbent justice.^[2]

The Wisconsin Judicial Commission brought an ethics charge against Justice Gableman.^[3] The charge alleges that a campaign advertisement in which he accused Butler of working "to put criminals on the street" and accusing Butler of finding a "loophole" that resulted in the release of a child molester, was false and misleading.^[4] Gableman has claimed in his defense that his free speech rights are violated by the judicial conduct rule he is accused of breaking.^[5][6]

A three-judge panel was charged with the preliminary investigation into whether or not the campaign ad violated the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct.^[7] In November 2009, the panel unanimously recommended that the complaint against Justice Gableman be dismissed.^[8] Procedure requires that the Wisconsin Supreme Court make the final determination as to whether there was an ethics violation.^[9] The court deadlocked 3-3, and the charge was withdrawn.

References

1. ^ http://www.wicourts.gov/about/judges/supreme/gableman.htm
2. ^ http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/29406414.html
3. ^ Wisconsin Judicial Commission Statement of Facts, accessed April 19, 2009
4. ^ "Editorial: Justice Gableman deserves public reprimand", Green Bay Press-Gazette, Dec. 1, 2008, accessed Dec. 3, 2008
5. ^ "Gableman says his free speech rights were violated", New Richmond News, Nov. 20, 2008, accessed Dec. 3, 2008.
6. ^ Judith Davidoff, "Gableman hires anti-abortion attorney to fight ethics charges", The Capital Times, Nov. 26, 2008, accessed Dec. 3, 2008
7. ^ Complaint Against Justice Gableman Moves Forward accessed Feb 3, 2010
8. ^ JUDICIAL CONDUCT PANEL’S FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND RECOMMENDATION, accessed Feb 3, 2010
9. ^ Complaint Against Justice Gableman Moves Forward accessed Feb 3, 2010

Persondata
Name	Gableman, Michael
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death