An ethics complaint has been filed against Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, who is backed by conservatives as he runs in the April election for Wisconsin Supreme Court.
At issue are allegations that Schimel has been directly fundraising, which, if true, would violate a judicial code of ethics.
Schimel has been campaigning for the state’s highest court for more than a year. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported this week that multiple times, Schimel has joked he needs knee pads, for all times he’s had to get on his knees asking for donations.
The Wisconsin Judicial Conduct Code says a candidate for judicial office can’t personally ask for or accept campaign donations.
Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, has filed a complaint with the nine-member Wisconsin Judicial Commission, asking the panel to investigate Schimel and take appropriate action.
“After these comments that have been made, I think it’s imperative that the commission that oversees these types of things takes a deeper dive and sees if there are violations to our Supreme Court rules," Ramos told WUWM.
Ramos said upholding the code of conduct is important: “It’s a safeguard to ensure our Supreme Court justices remain fair and impartial, regardless of who is donating to their campaign.”
The Schimel campaign, in a written statement to WUWM, says the Waukesha judge “has not made any direct solicitations to any donor.” Schimel calls it “a desperate attempt to distract from Susan Crawford attempting to sell donors two Congressional seats for their support.”
Crawford is the Dane County judge being backed by liberal groups and Democrats in the Supreme Court race. Crawford winning the contest to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley would keep the court’s 4-3 liberal majority.
Crawford was in Milwaukee Tuesday to accept an endorsement from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). She told reporters that Schimel is wrong to claim she has suggested the state court with her on it this fall would order new Congressional maps in Wisconsin to favor two more Democratic-leaning seats.Crawford said during the online event in question, she only spoke briefly to a donor advisory group, to tell them why she is running for Supreme Court. “And after speaking for a few minutes, I exited the Zoom. I was not there to hear the rest of their agenda or the rest of their speakers," she said.
Crawford said redrawing Congressional districts did not come up while she was on the call.
Crawford also said Schimel’s comments about knee pads and reaching out to donors merit a closer look. “He certainly was implying that he’s directly asking people for the maximum contributions for his campaign," she said.
Crawford said she strictly follows the rule banning direct solicitations of campaign money.
Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School, said the Wisconsin Judicial Commission has the option of rejecting the complaint against Schimel — or investigate it, set up a hearing and refer the matter to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Godar said any punishment can range from a warning letter to the judicial candidate, to possible suspension or removal of the judge.
“It really varies. It’s pretty rare to see something as severe as suspension or removal. There have been instances of that in the past. But it’s typically for something more severe, like something amounting to bribery, or some sort of more corrupt conduct," Godar told WUWM.
Godar said it seems unlikely that the complaint against Schimel will be resolved before the April 1 election. But the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said it hopes the commission is ready to take on the matter and move quickly.
