Panel hears arguments in case of sitting Supreme Court justice
WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) - The attorney for Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler says the judge has already paid a price for violating the state's code of judicial ethics.
Attorney James Troupis says that price is the harm that's been done to Ziegler's name and her family.
Troupis argued before a special judicial panel in Washington County today that Ziegler's offense while a circuit court judge was inadvertent and that she should not be severely punished.
The judicial panel will make a recommendation to Ziegler's colleagues on the state Supreme Court, which will determine her punishment, if any. One option is her removal from the Supreme Court.
Ziegler has admitted to breaking the ethics code by hearing cases involving a bank in which her husband was a paid board member.
Government watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign raised questions about Ziegler's record earlier this year during the height of her Supreme Court campaign.
The group's executive director, Mike McCabe, said Ziegler should be suspended.
McCabe says called today's hearing "disgusting'' and said he felt it was clear the judges don't want to punish one of their own.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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