Third time is a charm: Silly activist WI judge fixes her TRO for the third time

WISC-TV: Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued the amended ruling at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday. She had earlier issued an emergency order blocking Wisconsin's secretary of state from publishing the law, called Wisconsin Act 10. However, Sumi re-issued her order on Tuesday after a hearing and this time, she has warned that any officials who violated it will face sanctions.

The judge further amended the ruling on Thursday to read, "Further, based on the briefs of counsel, the uncontroverted testimony, and the evidence received at the March 29 evidentiary hearing, it is hereby declared that 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 has not been published."

The judge said Tuesday that her previous order was "misunderstood or ignored" and that "those who act in open defiance of a court order are in peril of sanctions." [MORE]

Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practise to deceive! Judge Sumi is a complete and utter hack of the first magnitude. Moe Lane very nicely details the comedy of errors Hack Sumi has committed:

• Wisconsin Democratic Senators run away rather than do their jobs. This prevents a quorum for bills that are primarily financial in nature.
• Wisconsin Republican Senators end up passing what they can, including a critical union reform bill.
• Having returned from self-imposed Illinois exile, Wisconsin Democrats find a convenient judge (Maryann Sumi) to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO), on what is frankly a misunderstanding of the law.
• Judge Sumi makes a mistake in the TRO by only enjoining the Secretary of State (Democrat) from publishing the law. For example, she did not enjoin the Legislative Research Bureau (LRB) from publishing the law, despite the fact that they are required to by law.
• The LRB publishes the law, as per their statutory requirements; as the TRO did not cover that department, they have no choice.
• On Monday, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DoJ) points this detail out to Judge Sumi and asks her to vacate the order, given that the law is published.
• On Tuesday, Judge Sumi reissues her TRO to prevent implementation of the law.
• On Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DoA) points out that this ruling was flawed in that it: did not in fact indicate that the law is not in effect; explicitly declined to state that the law was not legally published; and since when did Judge Sumi get to presume to drag the DoA (a non-party in the original dispute) into this mess she made in the first place?
• On Thursday, Judge Sumi has to fix her TRO again to rule that the law is not published, in a fashion that satisfies the DoA.
• At some point in all of this Judge Sumi somewhat plaintively (if you’ll pardon the pun) wonders aloud why the legislative branch simply just doesn’t pass the law again.
• To which Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) effectively replies “Because we did it right the first time, and it’s not like I tell you how to run a courtroom.” Left off is the unstated “Although I apparently should.”

Keep in mind all of this foolishness is over a perceived technical mistake pertaining to how much time was given to announce the vote of the bill.  Whether a mistake was made or not, the outcome would have been exactly the same ... the bill would have passed because Democrats do not have enough votes to stop it.  From this simple fact alone, Judge Sumi had no business issuing a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in the first place.

This judge should be removed from the bench immediately, not just because she is a partisan hack with family ties to the unions, but because she has proven herself to be absolutely incompetent.

Scott Walker and the Republicans are foolishly going to comply with the ruling. If I were them I would pass the bill again and publicaly state they are doing it because they have zero faith in Judge Sumi's impartiality and competence. To do anything less only gives credence to a damn fool.

Via: Memeorandum
Via: WISC_TV
Via: Moe Lane
Via: Red State