Republicans had floated the idea of impeaching Janet Protasiewicz, newly seated on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, before she could undo the party’s legislative gerrymander. But on Thursday, they backed off.

They’re still threatening to impeach her if she rules that gerrymandering violates the state constitution though:

Now, Mr. Vos said, the focus would be on what Justice Protasiewicz does “in office.” He said that if the court ruled against the Republican-drawn maps and other conservative causes, he would appeal its decisions to the U.S. Supreme Court. Impeachment, he said, remained “on the table” but was not something Republicans would pursue now.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    61·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Mr. Vos had first floated the possibility of impeachment in August, and the potential move was embraced by other top Republicans in the state, including Senator Ron Johnson and former Gov.

    Democratic officials and volunteers sought to force Republican legislators to reveal their position, though only one Assembly member, State Representative Scott Johnson of Jefferson, has said publicly that he opposes impeachment.

    The crux of the Republican argument to impeach Justice Protasiewicz had been her campaign statements, made before she won a commanding victory in April, that the state’s legislative maps were “rigged.”

    His statement responding to Justice Protasiewicz’s decision to remain on the case did not mention impeachment, saying only, “The United States Supreme Court will have the last word here.”

    On Tuesday, it emerged that a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice with whom Mr. Vos has been consulting — David Prosser, a conservative — had counseled him that impeachment was not warranted.

    Because of a state law enacted in 1849, decades before women won the right to vote, abortion became illegal in Wisconsin last summer when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

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