03/20/07 Watchdog Requests Ziegler Probe
Watchdog Requests Ziegler Probe
Wisconsin State Journal
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
SCOTT BAUER Associated Press
A nonpartisan government watchdog on Monday requested an investigation into Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler's handling of 16 cases she heard as a Washington County Circuit Court judge.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign asked the state's Judicial Commission to investigate whether Ziegler, who has been a judge for 10 years, violated judicial rules governing conduct by handling cases in which she or her husband had financial or business ties with one of the parties.
"The request for investigation will receive a thorough and fair review by the commission without prejudgment," James Alexander, executive director of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, said in a statement Monday.
The commission took the unusual step of confirming a normally confidential complaint after learning the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign had publicized its filing of allegations of conflict-of-interest violations by Ziegler, a Washington County Circuit Court judge.
Ziegler is running for the Supreme Court against Madison attorney Linda Clifford. Ziegler issued a statement saying she welcomed a review by the commission.
"I am confident the commission will determine that I showed no bias toward any party and there was no financial gain for me or my family in any case in which I was involved as judge," Ziegler said.
Clifford said she wasn't surprised a complaint was filed, especially given that she said Ziegler has still not satisfactorily explained her handling of the cases. The question Ziegler needs to answer, Clifford said, is whether she was unaware of the code of conduct or that she instead just chose to ignore it.
"I think that people are frustrated with her inability to understand the importance of these rules," Clifford said.
Also on Monday, Ziegler started running a new TV ad statewide that denies the charges and features a narrator saying, "There is no scandal." The ad closes with the sound of a howling wolf and a narrator saying, "We need a judge on the court, not a politician slinging mud."
Ziegler has been dogged by questions related to 22 cases she presided over involving companies in which she owned at least $50,000 worth of stock. She also handled 12 lawsuits involving companies in which she owned between $5,000 and $50,000 in stock.
Ziegler also has been criticized for not disclosing potential conflicts of interest in 46 cases reviewed by the Wisconsin State Journal involving West Bend Savings Bank. Her husband, J.J. Ziegler, is a paid board member.
Judges can remain on cases unless they have a significant financial interest and raise a reasonable question as to the judge's impartiality. Judges also are required to disclose any information the parties involved in a case might consider relevant to the question of recusal, even if the judge doesn't believe there is a basis for recusal.
The code of conduct further says there is a conflict of interest when a judge or their family members are a party in a case or "an officer, director or trustee" of a party before them.
The Democracy Campaign complaint cites nine cases Ziegler handled in which she owned more than $50,000 in stock and seven others involving the bank that paid Ziegler's husband for being a member of its board of directors and for renting space he owns to the bank. Ziegler has also received $3.1 million in loans from the bank.
"Judge Ziegler repeatedly broke clear-cut judicial ethics rules on conflicts of interest and continues to this day to act as though they don't apply to her," said Mike McCabe, director of the Democracy Campaign. "She needs to be held accountable for that."
Investigation requested
WHAT: The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign asked the state's Judicial Commission to investigate Supreme Court candidate Annette Ziegler's handling of 16 cases as a Washington County Circuit Court judge.
WHY? Ziegler has been dogged by questions about her handling of cases involving a company in which her husband is a director and other companies in which she owns at least $50,000 in stock.
NEXT: The commission's executive director will recommend whether the complaint should be presented to the commission for further investigation.