WILL Seeks to Block Legal Maneuver to Redraw Wisconsin’s Congressional Maps, Calls on Justice Protasiewicz to Recuse Herself

The News: The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) has responded to a new effort to overturn Wisconsin’s congressional maps, six months before an election. The case is brought by Marc Elias, a notorious left-wing attorney who pursues political objectives through legal action. WILL has also filed a joint request with the Wisconsin Legislature calling on Justice Protasiewicz to recuse herself from any ruling that revisits Johnson v. WEC. 

 

The Quote: Lucas Vebber WILL Deputy Counsel, stated, “Wisconsin’s current congressional map was proposed by Governor Evers and adopted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2022. Any attempt to revisit this ruling and once again alter Wisconsin’s Congressional districts, is both procedurally improper and legally wrong.”  

 

Petitioner’s Motion is Meritless: The current congressional maps—proposed by Governor Evers and adopted by the Court in 2022—are constitutional and comply with all applicable state and federal laws. While the Supreme Court recently found that the state legislative district maps from 2022 were unconstitutional because they were not literally contiguous, that is not so for the Congressional maps. The motion amounts to little more than an attempt for a “re do” of this case from years ago. 

 

Calling for Justice Protasiewicz’s Recusal: Wisconsin state law also “creates a mandatory duty for judges to disqualify themselves in certain circumstances.” According to Wisconsin law, “[a]ny judge”—including any “supreme court justice[]”—“shall dis-qualify” herself from any case where “she cannot, or it appears . . . she cannot, act in an impartial manner” or she “has a significant . . . per-sonal interest in the outcome of the matter.  

 

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin contributed nearly $10 million to Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign. During her campaign, Justice Protasiewicz declared Wisconsin’s districts “rigged” in favor of Republicans. As to the congressional maps, she specifically said “we know some-thing’s wrong.” Janet specifically reacted to Johnson v. WEC numerous times on the campaign trail, furthering the need for her recusal.