A state Supreme Court pilot project for business-related lawsuits is coming to Dane County and is causing controversy in the way judges are selected for the cases, according to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Circuit Judge Richard Niess has resigned his leadership post in protest, calling the selection by Supreme Court Chief Justice Patience Roggensack “a direct threat to the independence of our judiciary” and an example of overstepping authority.
In a letter last week to commercial lawyers and state bar leaders, Niess wrote that under the commercial court program, “special business interests now collaborate with our chief justice to hand-pick those judges they want to decide their cases.”
The program, operating since 2017 in Waukesha County, is being expanded to Dane and Milwaukee counties.
