Wisconsin court won’t take up justice’s non-recusal

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Supreme Court won’t hold a hearing on whether Justice Michael Gableman properly refused to recuse himself from a livestock facility siting case.

Attorneys in the case asked Gableman in January to recuse himself. They pointed out lawyers from the Michael, Best & Friedrich law firm were involved in the case and firm attorneys had defended Gableman for free in a campaign ethics case, raising questions of impropriety.

Gableman, a member of the court’s four-justice conservative majority, refused to step down.

The attorneys asked the court to hold a hearing. The three remaining conservative justices refused on Thursday, saying Gableman explained he could be impartial.

The remaining three judges dissented, creating a 3-3 tie. The hearing request needed four votes to proceed.