A new lawsuit filed with the state Supreme Court is urging the justices to block the possibility of impeachment proceedings against one of their own.
Protasiewicz, who has yet to rule on a single case, notched a landslide victory in April, flipping Republican control of the state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years. The hotly contested race, which put voting rights and abortion rights on the ballot, was the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with spending surpassing $45 million.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz during the live taping of"Pod Save America" hosted by WisDems at the Barrymore Theater on March 18, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin. Three voters in Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court, asking the justices to decide the future of one of their own.Republicans first floated the possibility of impeaching Protasiewicz immediately after she defeated former Justice Daniel Kelly with more than 55 percent of the vote.
But Burns, who ran for Protasiewicz's seat in 2018 as a liberal candidate, argues in his lawsuit that an effort to impeach the newest state justice would result in putting the votes of more than a million Wisconsin voters"to the dustbin of history." He also argues that it would open the door for more impeachments and strip voters of their right to elect their state Supreme Court justices and effectuate political change in the state.
"This harm would grow exponentially, irrevocably fracturing our government's constitutional framework, the balance of power and our citizens' right to vote," the lawsuit reads."The harm to our state and our way of life cannot be overstated." Protasiewicz could be removed from office by a simple majority of the Wisconsin Assembly, which is controlled by Republicans, but the lawsuit argues that legislators fail to put the justice's campaign comments in the categories described as being impeachable conduct, which is"corrupt conduct in office or for the commission of a crime or misdemeanor," according to a Wisconsin Legislative Council memo.
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