Michael Gableman, the sitting Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice who won election to the bench last April running against, er, criminals, is having some trouble with ethics law. [The state judicial commission filed a complaint against Gableman for “misrepresenting facts about his opponent” during his campaign last spring. ](http://blogs.jsonline.com/allpoliticswatch/archive/2008/10/10/court-orders-panel-in-gableman-case.aspx) Gableman and his allies at the Wisconsin Manufacturers Committee ran a number of alarmingly lowbrow ads against former justice, Louis Butler. The WMC accused Butler, who used to be a defense attorney, of putting dangerous criminals on the street. Moreover, WMC alleged Butler frequently cited “loopholes” in the law to set murderers and such free. Thankfully, Gableman didn’t tell us how his legal philosophy would somehow ignore the law and put the bad guys behind bars. It will just happen. A three judge panel has been appointed to hear the judicial commission’s case. The panel does have the right to recommend removal from office, although that outcome seems highly unlikely. Nevertheless, it would be a beautiful exercise of the separation of powers if he were.