Former conservative Justice Michael Gableman’s law license would be suspended for three years under a deal he reached with state regulators to settle the discipline case over his conduct during a taxpayer-financed review of the 2020 election.
Ultimately, it will be up to the state Supreme Court — including some of his former colleagues — whether the proposed deal will resolve the case against him.
Among other things, Gableman was accused of lying to the public, to the Office of Lawyer Regulation and to his former client, GOP Speaker Robin Vos, during the Assembly-approved probe.
Under the proposed deal, Gableman stipulated that he can’t successfully defend himself against the allegations and agreed there is a factual basis to find a violation in each of the 10 counts. It’s akin to a no contest plea in a criminal case.
The stipulation noted the proposed agreement isn’t the result of a plea bargain, but “of Gableman’s voluntary decision not to further contest this matter.”
Gableman attorney Peyton Engel declined comment on the stipulation other than to tell WisPolitics it was a “pretty run-of-the-mill disposition of a case.”
Gableman had sought to negotiate a settlement in the case that would drop some of the counts in exchange for his cooperation. But Engel previously told WisPolitics OLR as a matter of policy doesn’t drop counts from a complaint as part of any effort to negotiate a settlement.
The stipulation comes as Gableman had raised concerns about the costs of defending himself against the allegations and the possibility they could lead to criminal charges. Last month, the referee overseeing the case gave Gableman “one more chance” to sit for a deposition after he had rebuffed several chances by OLR to schedule one.
Under the stipulation filed today, the Office of Lawyer Regulation faces an April 25 deadline to make its case for why the three-year suspension is an appropriate sanction for the 75-page complaint filed in November. Gableman will have a chance to respond before the referee overseeing the discipline case makes a recommendation to the state Supreme Court.
The justices will then have final say; Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Bradley and Annette Ziegler all served with Gableman before he left the court.
Gableman served a single 10-year term on the state Supreme Court, opting against seeking reelection in 2018. At the time, there was speculation that Gableman was angling for an appointment with the first Trump administration, but nothing came of it.
Vos, who has called for Gableman to be disbarred, has said the former justice was working at Home Depot when he was tapped to lead the review of the 2020 election. A spokesperson for the speaker didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment this afternoon.
The progressive firm Law Forward filed one of the complaints that led to the case against Gableman. The firm’s Jeff Mandell called the proposed three-year suspension of Gableman’s law license “a first step in accountability.”
“Gableman violated his sworn duty to uphold both the U.S. and the Wisconsin constitutions and his obligations as an attorney,” Mandell said. “He broke more rules than he followed, acting with complete indifference to election law, procedural norms, and the ethical obligations that bind attorneys. With this deal, Gableman stipulates that he misled courts, lied in public meetings, and violated government transparency laws.”
See the proposed deal.
