MADISON (AP) - Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman received free legal services from one of the state's largest law firms to help him fight an ethics complaint - a situation that seems to conflict with ethics rules on accepting gifts, according to the state's largest newspaper.
The law firm of Michael Best & Friedrich defended Gableman against a state Judicial Commission complaint accusing him of violating the judicial code of ethics in a 2008 campaign ad. The ad accused Justice Louis Butler of finding a loophole for an offender who went on to molest another child. It didn't mention that Butler failed to get the offender out of prison early and that the offender committed the new crime after he had served his sentence. The Supreme Court ultimately deadlocked 3-3 on whether the ad amounted to a violation.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday that Michael Best & Friedrich attorney Eric McLeod never billed Gableman for his services. It's unclear exactly how much Gableman might have owed McLeod, but other attorneys have speculated it was thousands of dollars, the newspaper said.
Wisconsin's ethics code prohibits state officials from accepting free gifts because of their position. The judicial ethics code also prohibits judges from accepting gifts from anyone who is likely to appear before them. Michael Best & Friedrich has five cases before the Supreme Court and Gableman is taking part in all of them.
The Journal Sentinel obtained a letter that Michael Best & Friedrich's chief attorney wrote to the Supreme Court explaining that McLeod and Gableman had an agreement. The attorney, Jonathan Margolies, wrote that Gableman would pay only if he recovered his attorney fees from the state, similar to arrangements common in personal injury cases where plaintiff's attorneys get nothing if they lose the case.
Under state law, judges who win ethics cases can ask the state Claims Board to reimburse their legal fees. But because the Supreme Court tied over the ethics complaint, Gableman couldn't argue to the board that he had won and the state should cover his fees, Margolies said in the letter. Gableman was responsible for out-of-pocket expenses, which he paid, the letter said.
Margolies declined to disclose the value of the firm's work for Gableman in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. But he said he was sure the payment agreement was above board.
Jonathan Becker, the ethics administrator for the Government Accountability Board, declined to comment on Gableman's situation to the Journal Sentinel, but told the newspaper that in general the board would weigh how common such a fee arrangement is in the legal industry if it was reviewing a deal a public official struck.
"In my view the `no financial exposure' benefit the firm gave Gableman requires him to recuse himself indefinitely from cases the firm brings to the court," Stephen Gillers, a New York University Law School professor, told the Journal Sentinel.
Wisconsin judges decide for themselves whether they should step out of cases. Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh said Gableman must consider the value of any free legal serve he received from Michael Best & Friedrich and public perception when deciding whether to participate in cases involving the firm.
"A reasonable perception would be, `This guy owes him one,"' Geyh told the Journal Sentinel, adding he thinks Gableman shouldn't hear cases involving the firm for two or three years after receiving the legal service and hold off even longer before taking any cases involving McLeod.
In addition to the five cases the firm now has before the court, it represented a Republican group that wants force the Government Accountability Board to apply newly redrawn legislative district maps in potential recalls against four GOP state senators, a move that would favor the Republicans. The group has asked the Supreme Court to take the case and filed it separately in Waukesha County. It has dropped Michael Best & Friedrich from the Supreme Court request but has retained the firm in the other case.
Gableman also hired Indiana attorney James Bopp to defend him against the ethics complaint. Bopp declined to describe his arrangement with Gableman to the Journal Sentinel, saying only it complied with Wisconsin's ethics laws.
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