The Sconi

Lucas Vebber, the deputy counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL), has stated that it would be "improper" and "legally wrong" to modify Wisconsin's Congressional districts just a few months prior to the 2024 elections. Citing Wisconsin law, WILL, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Legislature, has submitted a joint request calling for Justice Janet Protasiewicz's recusal. This request is based on Protasiewicz's assertion during her campaign that the state's districts were "rigged" in favor of Republicans.

"Wisconsin's current congressional map was proposed by Governor Evers and adopted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2022," said Vebber in a statement on the WILL website. "Any attempt to revisit this ruling and once again alter Wisconsin's Congressional districts, is both procedurally improper and legally wrong."

According to Wisconsin Public Radio, last month a Democratic law firm led by Marc Elias filed a lawsuit challenging the current configuration of Wisconsin's Congressional maps. The primary elections for all of Wisconsin's Congressional seats are slated for August 13.

The joint filing from WILL and the Legislature urges Protasiewicz to recuse herself from any case that revisits the Court's 2022 ruling which approved the existing maps. The document, published on WILL's website, references Wisconsin state law that delineates circumstances under which judges, including Supreme Court justices, have a "mandatory duty" to recuse themselves. This includes any case where "she cannot, or it appears ... she cannot, act in an impartial manner."

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that while campaigning in 2023 for her seat on the court, then-Judge Protasiewicz claimed: "You’ll hear people argue that the Republicans used very sophisticated computer technology to draw those maps and to draw those maps in a way that are absolutely most favorable to them. So that’s when I say, yes, those maps are rigged."

Wisconsin's maps were submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Tony Evers (D-Wis.) who adopted a "least change" approach to redistricting. This strategy aimed at preserving much of the current districts rather than implementing significant changes to district boundaries. An Associated Press report states that attorneys for the governor's office argued that the maps submitted by Evers were most closely aligned with the Supreme Court's criteria and also complied with the federal Voting Rights Act. These maps were approved in 2022.

Legal Newsline reports that Protasiewicz's campaign attracted tens of millions of dollars from Democratic donors nationwide, and her election shifted the court's majority from conservative to liberal.