Annette Ziegler
Annette Kingsland Ziegler (born March 6, 1964) is an American attorney and judge. She is a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, serving since 2007.
Annette K. Ziegler | |
---|---|
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court | |
Assumed office August 1, 2007 | |
Preceded by | Jon P. Wilcox |
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Washington Circuit, Branch 2 | |
In office April 21, 1997 – July 31, 2007 | |
Appointed by | Tommy K. Thompson |
Preceded by | James B. Schwalbach |
Succeeded by | James K. Muehlbauer |
Personal details | |
Born | Annette Marie Kingsland March 6, 1964 Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. |
Spouse(s) | Jeffrey John (J.J.) Ziegler |
Children | Keller Charlie Drew |
Mother | Joyce Kingsland |
Father | Rex R. Kingsland |
Alma mater | Hope College (B.A.), Marquette University Law School, (J.D.) |
Early life and education
Ziegler was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Joyce and Rex R. Kingsland,[1] and graduated from Grand Rapids' Forest Hills Central High School in 1982. She went on to higher education, receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Psychology from Hope College in 1986, and her Juris Doctor from Marquette University Law School in 1989. While in law school she was a staff editor of the Marquette Law Review, as well as a recipient of the Dean's Award.
Early career
After graduating law school, she was admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin in 1989. Before serving in the judiciary, Ziegler worked as a federal prosecutor, an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. She was also a pro bono Special Assistant District Attorney in the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. In private practice, she was a civil private practice attorney for several years at the law firm of O'Neil, Cannon, Hollman & DeJong, SC.
Wisconsin Circuit Court
In 1997, Ziegler was appointed by Governor Tommy Thompson to the Washington County Circuit Court, in the Branch 2 vacancy created by the death of Judge James B. Schwalbach. She was elected to a full term in that seat in April 1998 and was re-elected in 2004, both times without opposition. She then chose to run for election to the Supreme Court seat being vacated by retiring Justice Jon P. Wilcox.
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Ziegler faced Madison attorney Linda Clifford in the April 2007 general election, after they were the top two finishers in the February primary. The campaign was contentious. Ziegler asserted that Clifford's lack of judicial experience made her ill-prepared for the Supreme Court; she also raised concerns about two of Clifford's campaign workers misrepresenting themselves to law enforcement officials. Clifford asserted that Ziegler had ruled in cases where she had a clear conflict of interest.[2]
It came to light during the campaign that Ziegler had, in fact, ruled on roughly a dozen cases affecting a bank of which her husband was a paid board member, and ruled on 22 cases involving companies in which Ziegler personally owned more than $50,000 of stock.[3]
On April 3, 2007, Ziegler defeated Clifford in the election, 58% to 42%.[4] Ziegler's campaign and allies outspent Clifford $4.1 million to $1.7 million. The influential business lobbying associations Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Wisconsin Club for Growth spent $2.6 million in support of Ziegler.
Following her election, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 5 to 1 decision, took the unprecedented step of publicly reprimanding Justice Ziegler for willful violations of the code of judicial conduct, stemming from her presiding over those cases where she had an apparent conflict of interest.[5] Ziegler's contentious election campaign and subsequent reprimand began an era of acrimony and politicization of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[6]
In 2015, Ziegler joined the 4 person majority which ended the John Doe investigation into possibly illegal coordination between the 2010 gubernatorial campaign of Scott Walker and business lobbying associations Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and Wisconsin Club for Growth. The court ruled that such coordination, if it had occurred, would be legal. The sweeping ruling upended Wisconsin campaign finance rules, enabling close coordination between campaigns and political action committees which did not have to disclose their donors.[7]
In 2017, she joined a 5 to 2 decision to strike down a rule which would have required judges to recuse from cases where they had previously received lawful campaign contributions from one of the interested parties.[8]
Justice Ziegler was re-elected in 2017 without opposition. Her current term expires July 31, 2027.
Electoral history
Wisconsin Circuit Court (1998, 2004)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Annette K. Ziegler (incumbent) | 6,364 | 100.0% | ||
Total votes | 6,364 | 100.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | Annette K. Ziegler (incumbent) | 12,067 | 99.82% | ||
Write-ins | 22 | 0.18% | |||
Total votes | 12,089 | 100.0% |
Wisconsin Supreme Court (2007, 2017)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Primary Election, February 20, 2007[11] | |||||
Nonpartisan | Annette K. Ziegler | 164,916 | 57.04% | ||
Nonpartisan | Linda M. Clifford | 78,501 | 27.15% | ||
Nonpartisan | Joseph Sommers | 44,835 | 15.51% | ||
Scattering | 860 | 0.30% | |||
Total votes | 506,517 | 100.0% | |||
General Election, April 3, 2007[12] | |||||
Nonpartisan | Annette K. Ziegler | 487,422 | 58.61% | ||
Nonpartisan | Linda M. Clifford | 342,371 | 41.17% | ||
Scattering | 1,864 | 0.22% | |||
Total votes | 506,517 | 100.0% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Election, April 4, 2017 | |||||
Nonpartisan | Annette K. Ziegler (incumbent) | 492,352 | 97.20% | ||
Scattering | 14,165 | 2.80% | |||
Total votes | 506,517 | 100.0% |
References
- "Rex R. Kingsland Obituary". The Grand Rapids Press. December 24, 2017. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Callender, David (2007-03-16). "Clifford Ad Assails Ziegler 'scandal'; It's Candidate's 1st Commercial". The Capital Times. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- "Poor Judgment Sinks Ziegler". Wisconsin State Journal. April 1, 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Marley, Patrick (2007-04-04). "Ziegler wins court seat; Expensive race ends with decisive victory". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-11-26.
- Hall, Dee J. (March 29, 2008). "Ziegler is given a public reprimand". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Hall, Dee J. (January 29, 2011). "At state Supreme Court, conflict among the justices". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Marley, Patrick; Spicuzza, Mary (July 16, 2015). "Wisconsin Supreme Court ends John Doe probe into Scott Walker's campaign". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Marley, Patrick (April 20, 2017). "Wisconsin Supreme Court rejects recusal changes when campaign donors are litigants". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (April 22, 2004). "Elections". State of Wisconsin 1999-2000 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. p. 855. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Results of Spring General Election - 04/06/2004 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. April 22, 2004. p. 13. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Results of Spring Primary Election - 02/20/2007 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. March 6, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Results of Spring General Election - 04/03/2007 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. April 23, 2007. p. 1. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
- Canvass Results for 2017 Spring Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. April 4, 2017. p. 1. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
External links
- "Ziegler Faces Conflict Questions", Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 5, 2007
- "Judge Takes More Than Half of Votes", Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, February 20, 2007
Legal offices | ||
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Preceded by James B. Schwalbach |
Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Washington Circuit, Branch 2 1997 – 2007 |
Succeeded by James K. Muehlbauer |
Preceded by Jon P. Wilcox |
Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court 2007 – present |
Incumbent |