Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Ziegler complaint filed by Ethics Board

One final detail left over from the state supreme court race. The State Ethics Board, not normally known for its aggresiveness, has filed a complaint against Justice Ziegler. According to the Associated Press,
The state Ethics Board on Wednesday filed a complaint alleging that newly elected Supreme Court Justice Annette Ziegler violated the state’s ethics code by participating in a lawsuit affecting a bank in which her husband is a director.

The board’s complaint is scheduled for a hearing on May 17 at the Dane County Courthouse before retired Court of Appeals Judge David Deininger. The Ethics Board is asking the judge to find Ziegler guilty of five violations, each punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.
I think she might have that in her "mad money."
Ethics Board chairman Jim Morgan said its investigation didn’t find any instance of Ziegler’s actions benefiting her or her family.

‘‘But a question about a judge’s favoritism toward a business with which a judge is associated should never arise,’’ Morgan said. ‘‘A government official shouldn’t be acting on a matter that affects a business of which the official or official’s spouse is an officer or director.’’
Fair enough, I think, and we'll soon be past this whole issue. Okay, I can't resist.

Our long cheesehead nightmare will soon be over.