Analysis: Ziegler owns stock in companies whose cases she heard
(Published Monday, March 12, 2007 11:00:25 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Washington County Circuit judge Annette Ziegler presided over 22 cases involving companies in which she owned at least $50,000 worth of stock, an analysis of court records found.
In her 10 years as a circuit judge, she also handled 12 lawsuits involving companies in which she owned between $5,000 and $50,000 in stock, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison.
Supreme Court rules mandate that judges withdraw from cases in which they have more than an "insignificant" financial interest, said James Alexander, executive director of the Wisconsin Judicial Commission.
The holdings must be enough to raise a reasonable question as to the judge's impartiality, he said.
A state judicial panel issued an advisory in 2000 saying judges owning $20,000 or more in stock in a company should either recuse themselves or proceed only after notifying both parties that they have a conflict.
Ziegler recently withdrew from a case involving Wal-Mart after critics noted that she owned at least $100,000 worth of stock in the retail giant. She cited the "appearance of impropriety" as her reason for withdrawing.
In a statement, Ziegler, 43, said many of those 34 cases were uncontested matters handled by an office clerk, and that the defendants didn't always show up.
"I was elected by the people of Washington County to do the job of hearing cases. I take that job very seriously and I do not try to look for ways to get out of work," her statement said. "State rules require judges to disqualify themselves from any case when a judge has a significant or personal interest in the outcome of the matter. I am confident that none of those cases had an impact on me or my family's personal or financial interests."
Alexander said it doesn't matter whether she or her family saw actual gains, and that judges must be diligent about avoiding any appearance of bias.
Ziegler drew 57 percent of the vote in a three-way Feb. 20 primary for a seat on the state's high court. She is considered more conservative than Madison attorney Linda Clifford, whom Ziegler will face in the April 3 general election.
The court files studied by the State Journal covered 34 cases involving companies in which Ziegler reported owning stock, including JP Morgan Chase, M&I Bank and United Healthcare.
The cases involved matters such as mortgage foreclosures, small-claims actions and medical malpractice.
Litigant Bobbie Gertsch, who appeared before Ziegler last month to prevent JP Morgan Chase from taking her 2004 car, was surprised to hear the judge owned more than $50,000 of stock in the finance company.
The West Bend woman said she hoped to convince Ziegler to not sign an order that would allow JP Morgan to take her car if she's late with subsequent payments. Ziegler did sign the order.
"I don't know," Gertsch said. "I don't know if I got a fair shake or not. But what can I do? I don't know the laws."
According to 1997 court filings, Ziegler reported owning stock in 39 companies, 16 of them at a level of $50,000 or more. Her most recent statement of economic interest shows Ziegler holds between $5,000 and $50,000 worth of stock in 174 companies, including 29 at a level of $50,000 or more.
Ziegler was appointed to the bench in 1997 by then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. Over her career, she either recused herself or was substituted from 98 cases, court records show.
