Gableman requests ethics complaint be dropped

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State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman has asked a special panel to drop an ethics complaint against him.

The state’s Judicial Commission accuses Gableman of running a misleading TV ad for his campaign last year, when he defeated incumbent Justice Louis Butler.

Gableman said the complaint is based on what viewers assumed from the ad instead of what the ad really said.

It said Butler, as a public defender, once found a loophole to free an alleged child molester and the person went on to rape another child.

Gableman said the ad did not indicate that Reuben Mitchell re-offended specifically because of Butler’s actions.

The ad did not say the Supreme Court later restored Mitchell’s conviction and he served all his time before he raped another child.

The ethics complaint is now in the hands of a three-judge panel.

That group will decide if Gableman committed a violation, and if so, what punishment he should receive. His Supreme Court colleagues would then take final action.

Tags: news, wisconsin, ethics, gableman