Secret judicial panel says no to impeachment

We probably didn’t need a secret panel of former judges to tell us what much of Wisconsin already knew. It wouldn’t be prudent to impeach a member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court before she has even heard a single case. There was talk by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of impeaching newly and overwhelmingly elected Supreme Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz for comments she made on the campaign trail. He suggested she be forced to recuse herself from hearing any cases involving challenges to the state’s legislative boundaries because she had called the current maps rigged. So, Vos appointed a secret committee comprised of former Supreme Court justices to offer guidance on whether to impeach. The answer is a big fat no. One member of the secret panel told Vos “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime or committed indisputable corrupt conduct while in office.”  Of course, we already knew that. Common sense says so. So did the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which dismissed complaints against Judge Janet, more than a month ago. Maybe now that his secret committee has told him the same thing, Speaker Vos finally gets it.