{"id":18440,"date":"2012-09-11T15:53:49","date_gmt":"2012-09-11T20:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/?p=18440"},"modified":"2012-09-11T15:56:01","modified_gmt":"2012-09-11T20:56:01","slug":"restoring-public-confidence-in-the-judicial-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law.marquette.edu\/facultyblog\/2012\/09\/restoring-public-confidence-in-the-judicial-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoring Public Confidence in the Judicial System"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c[A] lawyer should further the public\u2019s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.\u201d\u00a0 Taken from paragraph six of the Preamble[1]<\/a> to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, this quote sets out our duty to educate the public.<\/p>\n

In April 2009, then Wisconsin State Bar President Diane Diel discussed this very quote in a short article published in Wisconsin Lawyer <\/em>magazine.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 The article focused on the negative effect judicial elections have on the public\u2019s confidence in the judicial system — discussing current Justice Michael Gableman\u2019s allegedly unethical ad that aired during his campaign against Justice Louis Butler and his subsequent disciplinary hearing — and the ever-controversial topic of judicial recusals, focusing on whether judges should be required to recuse themselves from deciding cases in which they received campaign contributions from an interested party.<\/p>\n

Diel\u2019s article seems to have foreshadowed the current turbulence in the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has led to plunging confidence in the judicial system. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the 2009 article was published, an extremely heated Supreme Court campaign occurred between incumbent Justice David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg, which included multiple negative television ads disclosing outbursts and derogatory comments Prosser made in chambers towards Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.\u00a0 These ads, outbursts, and statements have led members of the Court to openly admit that the Court is dysfunctional.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Justice Prosser retained his seat, but since then the politically divided court has seen justices on both sides involved in such things as name-calling, threats, alleged physical violence, and complaints to law enforcement agencies about workplace safety.\u00a0 Last June, Justices Prosser and Ann Walsh Bradley were part of a physical altercation that concluded with allegations that Prosser put Bradley in a choke-hold.\u00a0 This past May, the Court decided not to reappoint John Dawson as the chairman of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which was responsible for investigating ethical charges against Prosser resulting from the alleged choke-hold incident, leading Chief Justice Abrahamson to publicly criticize the Court\u2019s \u201cconservative majority\u201d[4]<\/a> and Justices Prosser and Roggensack to publicly disclose that the Chief Justice threatened them[5]<\/a> and accused them of being \u201ccorrupt\u201d during a closed door meeting.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

If the public tension between the Justices was not enough, empirical evidence supports the conclusion that the public lacks confidence in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.\u00a0 In 2008, a survey[7]<\/a> conducted by Justice at Stake<\/em> showed that approximately 52% of Wisconsin voters were confident in their Supreme Court.\u00a0 As of July 2011, after the choke-hold allegations, that number dropped to 33%; two-thirds of Wisconsin voters lack confidence in the Wisconsin Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, something needs to be done to restore public confidence in the judicial system, and it should begin at the individual level with Wisconsin\u2019s 22,000 lawyers.\u00a0 Diane Diel\u2019s 2009 article provides a great message, but regardless, restoring public confidence will only occur when all lawyers step up to the plate and embrace the important duty provided in our Professional Responsibility Preamble.\u00a0 Every lawyer individually needs to conduct him or herself in a way that will help restore public confidence in our judicial system.<\/p>\n

It is fitting that the Preamble ends by emphasizing the main point of this blog: \u201cLawyers play a vital role in the preservation of society.\u00a0 The fulfillment of this role requires an understanding by lawyers of their relationship to our legal system.\u201d\u00a0 Each and every attorney needs to understand their personal relationship with the judicial system and promote the public\u2019s confidence therein. \u00a0In addition to being a counselor, advocate, negotiator, etc., we are ambassadors for the legal profession, and it is our duty to the profession to ensure that the public, the very people we have sworn to help, have confidence in the judicial system even if that means educating the public about problems in our profession when the organized bar and lawyer regulators don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Attorney Michael F. Hupy is a Certified Civil Trial Specialist and Marquette University graduate. He focuses on injury law at his firm, Hupy and Abraham, S.C.<\/a>, and supports many safety programs, including the Hupy and Abraham \u201cWatch for Motorcycles\u201d Awareness Program and other community organizations. In 2011, the firm donated over $150,000 to more than 100 local organizations.<\/em><\/p>\n


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[1]<\/a>available at http:\/\/www.americanbar.org\/groups\/professional_responsibility\/publications\/model_rules_of_professional_conduct\/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_preamble_scope.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[2]<\/a> available at http:\/\/www.wisbar.org\/am\/template.cfm?section=wisconsin_lawyer&template=\/cm\/contentdisplay.cfm&contentid=79664<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[3]<\/a> available at http:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/news\/statepolitics\/118310479.html<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[4]<\/a> available at http:\/\/media.jsonline.com\/documents\/Dawson+Letter.pdf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[5]<\/a> available at http:\/\/www.gavelgrab.org\/?p=36174#more-36174<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[6]<\/a> available at http:\/\/m.jsonline.com\/?cid=151182085& and http:\/\/www.gavelgrab.org\/?p=36174#more-36174<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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[7]<\/a> available at http:\/\/www.justiceatstake.org\/media\/cms\/WI_Merit_Poll_Results_734DCFE0AA5C8.pdf<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201c[A] lawyer should further the public\u2019s understanding of and confidence in the rule of law and the justice system because legal institutions in a constitutional democracy depend on popular participation and support to maintain their authority.\u201d\u00a0 Taken from paragraph six of the Preamble[1] to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, this quote sets out our 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