Memo to Legislature: Take a closer look at GAB Judge’s conduct (WI)

Wisconsin Watchdog ^ | 11-5-15 | M. D. Kittle

[afraidfortherepublic]

Part 279 of 277 in the series Wisconsin's Secret War

MADISON, Wisconsin — As the Senate seems to be coming to terms on a “compromise” that would retain at least a couple of retired judges on the state Government Accountability Board, one of the targets of the rogue agency’s unconstitutional investigation is asking senators to think again.

On Thursday, Eric O’Keefe of the Wisconsin Club for Growth sent Wisconsin policymakers a detailed communication outlining “potential misconduct” by GAB chairman Gerald Nichol.” O’Keefe cites several “troubling statements” Nichol has made in recent weeks that have exposed the judge’s partisanship serving on the ostensibly “nonpartisan” board that oversees Wisconsin’s campaign finance, elections and ethics laws.

“Recent statements by Reserve Judge and GAB Chairman Gerald C. Nichol may have constituted judicial misconduct,” O’Keefe writes in the memo. “Wisconsin state legislators should consider the impact such conduct has on public views of the Government Accountability Board.”

Legislators, O’Keefe writes, should be prepared to answer three questions from private citizens who have been or may be targeted by the GAB or successor agencies:

1.Do the actions of GAB Chair and Reserve Judge Nichol constitute misconduct?

2.Should the GAB continue to operate under the direction of officials who may have engaged in misconduct, and whose publicly stated views put them at odds with our courts?

3.Should the legislature replace GAB with an agency where such retired judges are once again entrusted with unchecked power?

Nichol could not be reached for comment Thursday. A GAB spokesman said he would reach out to the judge, and if Nichol wanted to return Wisconsin Watchdog’s request for comment he would.

Still at an impasse, Senate Republican leadership appeared to be leaning toward a compromise proposal that would retain at least two retired judges in a bill aimed at overhauling the accountability board.

One of the GOP lawmakers pushing for the compromise, Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, told Wispolitics.com he believes the two judges wouldn’t be true partisans, no matter their political perspectives.

O’Keefe argues that the GAB judges’ conduct has been driven by political motives, particularly in the agency’s integral involvement in a secret John Doe investigation into dozens of conservative groups and the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker.

The state Supreme Court in July declared the probe unconstitutional and ordered it shut down.

Nichol in recent weeks has attacked the decision by the court’s conservative majority, particularly the ruling’s author, Justice Michael Gableman.

Asked last month if he believes the court ruling ended the investigation, Nichol responded:

“I thought that was a very poorly written decision. Judge Gableman does not distinguish any of the prior cases, and he goes out and creates a whole new body of law. And not that I’m surprised. But, you know, evidently some of them were asked to recuse themselves. They refused to do it, even though there was tons of money in past campaign finances — campaigns I should say. And, you know, most judges in the state who I’ve talked to are appalled by that decision. They think — think it – just was not credible and it was done with a specific purpose and, so, I was not surprised but not [sic] disappointed.”

What Nichol did not note was the GAB, months before the case got to the Supreme Court, tried to game the system in pushing for recusals of conservative judges who were believed to be the benefactors of issue advertisements from targets of the probe, like the Wisconsin Club for Growth.

In his memo, O’Keefe asserts Nichol’s statements about the court may be a violation of judicial ethics codes that prohibit “behavior that degrades public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.”

“A judge should participate in establishing, maintaining and enforcing high standards of conduct and shall personally observe those standards so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary will be preserved,” the rules state.

O’Keefe calls into question Nichol’s comments that the Supreme Court decision was “poorly written,” his assertion that judges around the state were “appalled” by it and the speculation that the ruling “was done with a specific purpose.”

O’Keefe also argues Nichol made false public statements regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling, particularly that it “creates a whole new body of law.”

In fact, the majority opinion applied well-established First Amendment principles in declaring the state campaign finance rule phrase “for the purpose of influencing the election,” overly broad and vague, he asserts.

O’Keefe says Nichol may have violated judicial ethics rules regarding improper influence and indications of prejudice and bias — if the judge “allowed his extra-judicial activities and relationships at the GAB to influence his judgment and cast reasonable doubt on his capacity to act impartially as a judge.”

“Judge Nichol’s public remarks could be read to suggest that he has allowed his position and relationships at the GAB — an agency itself under scrutiny for improperly acting based on political motivations — to influence his judgment and create significant doubt as to his impartiality,” O’Keefe writes.

Nichol “attacked targets of the John Doe investigation, casting them as ‘the other side’ and criticizing them for seeking to maintain privacy in their personal affairs.”

O’Keefe said he has not filed an ethics complaint against Nichol, but said the information is available if any Wisconsin citizen was so inclined to do so.

“Wisconsin citizens should have confidence that the agencies they fund are managed with impartiality and fairness. In the case of the GAB, citizens cannot be confident that the agency’s leaders operate with impartiality,” O’Keefe said.

[afraidfortherepublic]

ONE MAY SMILE AND SMILE: GAB Chairman Gerald Nichol’s public statements raise serious questions about his conduct, according to a memo to legislators from a conservative target of the unconstitutional John Doe investigation.

RELATED: Senate preparing to vote on compromise GAB reform bill

[afraidfortherepublic]

Legislature (State Senate) on verge of making big mistake by including judges in GAB reform Bill.

FReep Mail me if you want on, or or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.

[vette6387]

So tell us all, just what the hell is wrong with your “republican senators?” Looks to me that they need the same kind of spinal replacement surgery that’s needed in the US Senate.

[RicocheT]

Luther Olsen is a dope, don’t follow his advice. Fix GAB the right way.