Michael J. Gableman is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His term began on August 1, 2008 and ends on July 31, 2018.
Justice Gableman was born in West Allis and raised in Waukesha County. He is a graduate of New Berlin West High School and Ripon College (1988), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and history. After college, Gableman taught American history in the Milwaukee Public School system (1988–1989) before pursuing a legal career. He then taught at Hamline University School of Law as an adjunct professor of law, and continued that role from 2003 to 2005. He often lectures on the dynamics of domestic violence. He was the circuit court judge for Burnett County.[1]
The race between Michael Gableman and Louis Butler for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which took place in 2008, was a contentious one. On April 1, 2008, Gableman defeated Butler 51% to 49%, making him the first candidate since 1967 to defeat an incumbent justice.[2]
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission brought an ethics charge against Justice Gableman.[3] The charge alleges that a campaign advertisement in which he accused Butler of working "to put criminals on the street" and accusing Butler of finding a "loophole" that resulted in the release of a child molester, was false and misleading.[4] Gableman has claimed in his defense that his free speech rights are violated by the judicial conduct rule he is accused of breaking.[5][6]
A three-judge panel was charged with the preliminary investigation into whether or not the campaign ad violated the Wisconsin Code of Judicial Conduct.[7] In November 2009, the panel unanimously recommended that the complaint against Justice Gableman be dismissed.[8] Procedure requires that the Wisconsin Supreme Court make the final determination as to whether there was an ethics violation.[9] The court deadlocked 3-3, and the charge was withdrawn.
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