At the risk of belaboring the obvious, today's Supreme Court order denying Annette Ziegler's petition for an original action does not mean that the court has rejected the merits of her position regarding the Ethics Board's power to discipline judges. Original jurisdiction is rarely exercised and it doesn't surprise me that the court did not fall over itself to take this one. She will be free to make her separation of powers argument before the Ethics Board and on review from any decision that it may render.
If I were to bet, however, I'm guessing that the thing gets settled.
This has to be a big disappointment for her. Will she be at the Public Hearing?
ReplyDeleteFeh. If they thought this was important and would chane the outcome, they'd have taken it, like they did for Ralph Nader.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that is puzzling: If Ziegler wants to pursue the claims that the EB cannot regulate judicial conduct, specifically hers, by virtue of the separation of powers -- why doesn't she simply file a suit for a declaration and injunction in circuit court?
ReplyDeleteThe fact that the Supreme Court did not want to case to start in that court as an "original action," its denial of her petition does not affect her ability to seek the same relief in a more typical lawsuit. This is especially true given the fact that the EB also seems interested in having the issue resolved.
anon - 11:19 AM
ReplyDeleteI believe it was reported that she said she went to the Supreme Court because she didn't want to go to the circuit court, the appeals court only to have it thrown out when it got to the Supreme Court.
I know her claims are filled with problems but I also think that it wasn't an issue of State wide concern that the Court needed to deal with.
Oh, I think that any justice on our state supreme court with a potential conflict of interest is of statewide concern. . . .
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:47 - How do you see her petition as being of Statewide importance? Is there really an issue there?
ReplyDeleteI don't think so because the separation of powers is to keep them in check, not to let each do their own thing.