MADISON — Justice Brian Hagedorn, one of three conservative leaning members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court will not participate in the court’s decision regarding Act 10.
In a written order this afternoon, Hagedorn wrote that his prior role as legal counsel to then Governor Scott Walker impeded his ability to be “independent and impartial”.
“Members of the judiciary take a solemn oath to be independent and impartial. Our duty is to call it straight in every case, with neither partiality nor prejudice toward anyone,” reads the order. “The law must guide our decisions-not politics, tribalism, or personal policy views.”
In July 2024, Dane County Circuit Court Judge David Frost ruled that parts of Act 10 violated the state’s equal protection clause. Frost’s ruling was upheld in December.
Act 10, which was signed into law by former Republican Governor Scott Walker in 2011, limited some public sector employees from collective bargaining.
Prior to his election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Hagedorn served as chief legal counsel to Walker from 2010 until 2015. During his time in that role he helped draft the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, which included Act 10.
Hagedorn’s recusal comes as Republican lawmakers are asking Justice Janet Protasiewicz to do the same. Protasiewicz has been a verbal critic of Act 10 since its inception more than a decade ago.
