On Wednesday, August 1st, Wisconsin experienced an earthquake. Did you feel it? No Richter scale picked up its magnitude, but the impact was felt all across the state, from large cities to small towns. While no buildings were toppled and no property damage was done, the destruction began almost immediately, with more to come. It’s true that no lives were lost at the time, but the aftershock will no doubt result in loss of human life.

The devastating earthquake happened just as Justice-elect Janet Protaciewicz was sworn in as the newest member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. At that moment, the tectonic plates in our state shifted, as the ideological balance of our high court suddenly went from a slim 4-3 conservative majority to a slim, but very significant, 4-3 liberal majority.

The new liberal majority lost no time in flexing its muscle and causing the first aftershock. The very day of this human-made disaster, the liberal majority voted to fire the Director of State Courts, Randy Koshnick, who had served with distinction for six years in this important, non-judicial position.

Shortly after Koschnick was fired, the court hired a new interim director of state courts. Senate Majority Leader Republican Devin LeMahieu objected, saying that this individual didn’t meet the legal requirements to be appointed to this job, but that did not deter the liberal juggernaut in the least.

According to the current Chief Justice, Annette Ziegler, one of the conservatives on the court, the court continued its destructive path by convening a meeting in a way that, if not illegal, is at least in violation of the court’s self-determined policies and procedures. Some news reports indicated the liberal justices responded pretty much by saying, “Too bad. We’re in charge now, and we’ll do what we want, when we want, in the way we want.” Talk about an aftershock!

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