More Controversy on Wisconsin's Highest Court

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's allegation that Justice Ann Walsh Bradley smacked him upside the head in 2008 is being disputed by three Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices. Gableman made the allegation to Dane County sheriff's deputies investigating the June 13 "choking" incident between Justices David Prosser and Bradley.

As CMD has reported, sheriff's deputies questioned all seven state Supreme Court Justices about a June 13, 2011 altercation between Prosser and Bradley that took place just before the court released its decision on Governor Walker's collective bargaining law.The investigation was initiated based on Justice Bradley's concerns about workplace safety and officers questioned each of the justices on the topic.

Gableman told sheriff's deputies he recalled an incident from September 18, 2008, a date he remembered because it was his birthday and just weeks after he joined the court. Gableman said he was in a meeting with other justices, and in a lighthearted comment, called Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson by her first name. Gableman told the officers "Justice Bradley came over to him, hit him on the back of the head and told him that he needed to show respect to the chief," according to the sheriff's report. He said nobody was laughing and Bradley did not appear to be joking.

Justices Dispute Gableman's Account

The Wisconsin State Journal reported Thursday morning that three sitting justices said not only that the incident never happened, but that it was impossible it ever could have taken place.

Bradley said in an email that "Justice Gableman recounts an event that never happened on a date that, according to my records, it could not have occurred." Chief Justice Abrahamson said "no meeting, conference or oral argument of the court occurred on September 18, 2008, or on any day that week," and her calendar showed she had appointments outside of the Capitol that day. Abrahamson said Justice Crooks checked his records and also showed no meetings during the week in question. "To the best of my recollection (and Justice Crooks's recollection is the same) no incident as described (and no similar incident) ever occurred in our presence."

Former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske, who was not on the court in 2008, told the State Journal that the contradiction between Gableman's account and the denials by the three justices was "disturbing" and called the account itself "bizarre."

"I have known Justice Bradley for 20 years. I cannot imagine her hitting another justice in anger because he (Gableman) called Justice Abrahamson 'Shirley' -- because everybody calls her Shirley." Geske added that even the court's custodial staff refer to the Chief Justice by her first name.

Uncorroborated Statements

In investigating the 2011 Prosser-Bradley incident, sheriff's deputies asked each of the seven justices about workplace safety and past acts of physical violence, but only Gableman mentioned Bradley hitting him in 2008.

Justice Annette Ziegler, after telling officers in her first interview there had been no earlier incidents of physical contact between justices, recounted Gableman's story in a follow-up interview. Ziegler did not state that she had personal knowledge of the incident -- only that Justice Gableman had told her it happened.

Former Justice Geske wondered why other justices would not mention the 2008 incident during the sheriff's investigation. "Somebody physically hitting someone in the conference is something that everyone would remember," she said.

Memory Lapses

In statements made to sheriff's deputies, justices split on ideological lines, with the conservative majority supporting Prosser and the liberal minority supporting Bradley. However, Gableman's account stood out not only for his positive assessment of Prosser's behavior, but also for his apparent lapses in memory.

In the report, Prosser admits that he placed both hands around Bradley's throat, and meeting records suggest no Justices corrected Bradley when she repeatedly used the term "chokehold" in meetings, but Gableman told deputies Prosser's hands were only "on the area where the shoulders meet the neck." He also said Bradley, "with right hand in a fist, made three to four punching motions back and forth, coming within an inch of Prosser's left cheek." No other justices said Bradley was punching back and forth, and none said her fist came so close to Prosser's cheek.

Gableman also said that he recalled Bradley being taller than Prosser. Gableman told Sheriff's deputies he remembered Bradley hovering over Prosser in a manner that brought to mind a famous photo of then-Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson hovering over a smaller senator. Prosser actually has six inches and 34 pounds on Bradley -- Prosser is 5-feet-9-inches tall and weighs 165 pounds, and Bradley is 5-feet-3-inches and weighs 131.

Gableman's Reply

Gableman replied to the State Journal story in a statement Thursday afternoon:

During my interview with the officers, I was uncertain as to whether Justice Bradley struck me on September 18, 2008, or September 18, 2009. I knew it was September 18 because that happens to be my birthday. Court records indicate that the seven Justices did, in fact, meet in closed conference on September 18, 2009. In any event, the incident happened exactly as I related it to the officers and as it was set forth in the report. While Justice Bradley might not be able to recall it, I certainly do.