Wisconsin Republicans are considering the impeachment of a newly-elected liberal justice on the state Supreme Court before she has even heard a case, according to a New York Times report. The threats to Justice Janet Protasiewicz came only weeks after her decisive election victory, which created a new 4-3 liberal majority on the state's high court that is likely to scrap GOP-drawn state legislative maps and legalize abortion across the state. Hypothetically, Republicans could have the votes to impeach Protasiewicz and remove her from office if all their legislators vote as a bloc.
The Times reported that on Democrats will launch a multimillion-dollar advertising counteroffensive over the next three weeks, intended to "inflict maximum political pain on legislators who vote to block Justice Protasiewicz from serving." During her campaign, Protasiewicz was outspoken about the "rigged" legislative maps enacted by Republicans, as wel as her views on reproductive health care. Liberal groups filing a legal challenge to Wisconsin's GOP-friendly legislative maps a day after she was seated.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, has argued that the state Assembly is "obligated" to impeach Protasiewicz if she attempts to rule on the maps. The Times report added that although Protasiewicz has not spoken publicly about the potential impeachment case, she released a letter on Tuesday from an independent oversight group, the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which dismissed allegations that she had acted in violation of Wisconsin's judicial code of ethics by sharing her "personal views" about abortion and Wisconsin's legislative maps during her political campaign.
