By admin 
The Wisconsin Office of Lawyer Regulation (OLR) filed a disciplinary complaint against former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman on Tuesday. Ten indictments allege that Gableman violated numerous provisions of the Wisconsin Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys during and after his term in office. much maligned research of the 2020 elections.
Among the charges, Gableman is accused of failing to “provide competent representation” and “refrain from any offensive personality” and of violating attorney-client privilege.
The OLR investigation into Gableman was launched after a complaint was filed by the voting rights firm Law Forward. In a statement, Law Forward President Jeff Mandell said the organization will continue to hold people accountable for undermining faith in the state’s election system.
“Gableman misused taxpayer dollars, promoted baseless conspiracy theories, and engaged in inappropriate intimidation tactics; His efforts undermined the integrity of our electoral system,” Mandell said. “Law Forward is committed to ensuring accountability for those who undermine public confidence in our elections, and we will continue to take legal action to hold others who question the election accountable for their actions and to ensure that they face consequences for any misconduct that interferes with the freedom to vote in endangers. Our work is far from over and we are committed to securing a future where elections remain fair, transparent and free from interference.”
The first two charges against Gableman relate to statements and actions he took after filing subpoenas against the mayors and city clerks of the cities of Green Bay and Madison. The complaint alleges that Gableman mischaracterized conversations he had with attorneys for both cities, communicated with Green Bay’s city attorney when the city retained outside counsel in the case, lied to Green Bay city officials about the work of his investigation and mischaracterized those actions when he filed a petition in a Waukesha County Circuit Court try to have the mayors of both cities arrested for failing to comply with his subpoenas.
The third indictment alleges that Gableman made false statements in his filing testimony to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections when he accused officials of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, as well as the mayors of Green Bay and Madison, of “hiring expensive lawyers” to conduct an “organized cover-up.”
Gableman – Complaint
“Gableman did not characterize his statements as opinions,” the complaint said. “He presented them as objective, proven facts. His claims were public accusations of improper, possibly illegal, activities by Mayors Rhodes-Conway and Genrich. Gableman had no tangible, verifiable, objective, and convincing evidence to support his claims. Gableman’s allegations caused serious reputational damage to the government officials involved. He publicly tried to jail the mayors of Madison and Green Bay, despite everything they and their lawyers had done to comply with Gableman’s subpoenas.
The fourth through seventh charges against Gableman relate to actions and statements he made during the trial open file process regarding his investigation by the public interest group American Oversight.
These charges allege that Gableman’s statements while on the witness stand, in open court during a recess, and to the news media following a hearing on his investigation’s failure to provide data, constituted derogatory statements about a judge and a opponent and demonstrated a “lack of competence” in following the state’s open records and document retention laws by destroying documents and failing to comply with American Oversight’s document requests.
Count Eight alleges that Gableman used his contract with the Wisconsin Assembly and Speaker Robin Vos to pursue his own interests, including stating multiple times that he had to “pressure” Vos to continue the investigation that unfolded for months dragged on after it should have ended.
The complaint states that Gableman received a total of $117,395.95 during the investigation and that the Assembly paid $2,344,808.94 for the investigation, including $1,816,932.26 for hiring outside counsel in multiple lawsuits that were initiated during the investigation.
“Prior to signing the contract, Gableman did not tell Vos that he disagreed with the objectives Vos had outlined, the time frame for submitting the final report, or the compensation to be paid to him,” the complaint states. “Gableman also did not tell Vos that he intended to solicit public support to pressure Vos to change the study’s objectives, increase its budget, or extend its timeframe.”
The ninth count in the complaint alleges that Gableman, by supporting a failed effort to recall Vos, and by making several public statements at rallies and in the media about his conversations with Vos and Vos staff, breached his duty of confidentiality towards his client, the General Meeting. .
The latest count alleges that Gableman lied in an affidavit to the OLR filed during the investigation into his conduct. Gableman stated in the affidavit that at no time during his investigation was he “engaged in the practice of law.” However, the complaint contains excerpts from some of the agreements he signed with the General Assembly that served as “legal services” contracts. It also lists the cases during the investigation in which he provided legal advice to the General Assembly and the times he filed a report as a bailiff. lawyer during the investigation.
The complaint states that he made “several demonstrably false statements” in the affidavit in which he attempted to show that he had not violated the state’s code of conduct, which itself is a violation of the code.
OLR complaints are heard by the state Supreme Court. The office says it does not comment on pending litigation.
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