Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley released a memo Wednesday in which she recused herself from disciplinary proceedings against Supreme Court Justice David Prosser and revealed Prosser’s allegedly aggressive office history.
In her memo, Bradley said she will recuse herself from Prosser’s Wisconsin Judicial Commission disciplinary case, which is currently stalled because five of the seven high court justices want to exclude themselves from the case on ethical grounds. The case cannot proceed unless four justices are willing to hear the case.
The case was filed in response to an altercation between Bradley and Prosser. Bradley said Prosser had placed his hands around her neck on June 13, 2011 after getting upset during a discussion. Prosser disputes this story and maintains Bradley made an aggressive move first while attempting to force him to leave her office that day.
The incident was “one event in a history of abusive behavior,” Bradley wrote in her memo.
Bradley said she and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson lock themselves in their private offices when working alone because of “concerns for [their] physical safety due to Justice Prosser’s behavior.”
Bradley and Abrahamson implemented a security plan in conjunction with Capital Police two months prior to the heated conflict between Bradley and Prosser, according to Bradley
