Even before the newly elected justice who gave liberals a one-seat majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court has heard a case, Republican lawmakers are talking about taking the unprecedented step of impeaching and removing her from office.
And they have the votes to do it.
“To impeach someone, they would need to do something very serious,” LeMahieu told WISN-TV. “We are not looking to start the impeachment process as a regular occurring event in Wisconsin.”
The Legislature has voted only once to impeach a state judge. It happened in 1853, just five years after statehood, and the state Senate did not convict. The Wisconsin Constitution limits the reasons to impeach a sitting officeholder to corrupt conduct in office or the commission or a crime or misdemeanor, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council, nonpartisan attorneys who advise the Legislature.
Given the lack of precedent, it’s “super hard to predict,” what might happen in this case, said Chad Oldfather, a Marquette University Law School professor.