Wisconsin Voter ID: So what happens next?
As is well documented here and here, Dane County judge David Flanagan ruled for an injunction halting the implementation of at least the most harmful piece of the Republican's voter suppression bill here.
It's also been reported that Judge Flanagan signed a Recall Walker petition (good for him!).
So what happens next?
Per Reuters:
The state Republican Party issued a statement saying Flanagan should have recused himself because he supports the effort to recall Walker and said it would file a complaint with the Wisconsin Judicial Commission.
So, what, and who, is the Wisconsin Judicial Commission?
From their
website...
Commission structure
The Commission has nine members, including one court of appeals judge, one circuit court judge, and two attorneys, all appointed by the Supreme Court; and five non-lawyer members appointed by the governor with Senate confirmation. Members of the Commission may serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. Its staff consists of a full-time executive director, who must be a member of the state bar, and a full-time administrative assistant. The Commission also retains other investigators and attorneys, when necessary, to assist in the conduct of investigations and the prosecution of formal actions.
Membership, again per their website...
Ginger Alden is the Director of Major and Planned Gifts at Wisconsin Public Radio
Michael J. Aprahamian is a partner in Foley & Lardner
John R. Dawson is a retired partner in Foley & Lardner
James M. Haney is the associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and head of the Division of Communication at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Cynthia Herber was born and raised in Mexico City, where she received her J.D. from the Universidad Anahuac, A.C. in 1990
Michael R. Miller retired as Mayor of the City of West Bend in April 2005, after serving 18 years in that position.
Emily S. Mueller has served on the Circuit Court bench for Racine County since 1992. Prior to her appointment to the bench, she was a partner in the Racine law firm of Thompson & Coates
Paul F. Reilly, Judge for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II, since April 2009. From 2003-2009 Judge Reilly served in the Wisconsin Circuit Court - Waukesha County
There's also an Executive Director (James C. Alexander) and an Administrative Assistant (Laury L. Bussan), but they don't count, so apparently the Commission is now one member short. It will be interesting to see if the right-wing State Supreme Court will try to name another member before this (presumed) appeal is heard.
The makeup of the Commission, which does NOT give me a warm, fuzzy feeling. However, since the Republicans argue that Supreme Court Justice Gableman doesn't have to recuse himself from cases argued by firms giving him free services (not to mention Scalia, Thomas and a thousand other corrupt Republican-installed judges), I'm not sure how they can make a credible argument that Judge Flanagan's bias is grounds for reversal.
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