Wisconsin apex court restores public trust with sweeping changes

Changes include opening administrative conferences to the public, establishing a task force to recommend rule changes, and making court decisions more accessible on the Internet,

MADISON, Wisconsin – The Wisconsin Supreme Court has made sweeping changes to improve transparency and accountability after electing a liberal majority to the court.

The changes include opening administrative conferences to the public, establishing a task force to recommend rule changes, and making court decisions more accessible on the Internet.

The new measures are welcomed by legal experts and ethics groups, who have long criticized the court’s lack of transparency.

The changes are also seen to restore public confidence in the court, which has dwindled in recent years.

A working group on the recall of judges will be established to study the recall issue and make recommendations to the court on how to strengthen the rules.

The changes will be implemented by the Court’s three liberal justices: Chief Justice Patience Roggensack and Justices Rebecca Dallet and Janet Protasiewicz.

The court’s three conservative justices have not commented on the changes.

The court had previously closed its administrative conferences to the public and had also been criticized for its recusal rules, which were seen as too weak.

The changes are also seen to restore public confidence in the court, which has dwindled in recent years.

A 2022 Marquette University Law School poll found that only 37% of Wisconsin residents have great or great confidence in the state Supreme Court.