In April, Justice Protasiewicz won a commanding victory in what was widely seen as a referendum on abortion rights. Her 11-point margin was a blowout in Wisconsin, a purple state where presidential contests are routinely decided by fewer than 25,000 votes. She carried 12 Republican-held districts in the State Assembly and six in the State Senate.
Now the Republican state legislature is planning to impeach this judge because she won’t recuse herself on a case that clashes with her stated personal political views.
“In years past, conservative justices have argued that personal views they had previously stated did not mean they were required to recuse themselves from relevant cases. For example, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn once compared homosexuality to bestiality, called Planned Parenthood “a wicked organization” and wrote that “Christianity is the correct religion, and that insofar as others contradict it, they are wrong.” He has said those statements would not warrant his recusal on cases about abortion, gay rights or religion”