Palpable Irony: Judge Sumi is Sued

The liberal activist judge in Dane County, Wisconsin who issued multiple Temporary Restraining Orders (TRO) to prevent the implementation of the recently passed collective bargaining law is being sued by Wisconsin's Attorney General. Judge Maryann Sumi's last name is pronounced as the threat, 'Sue me.' In a touch of irony, she is being sued in her capacity as a judge who overstepped her constitutional authority by ruling on a law without any legal standing to do so. Sumi also should have recused herself based on her family ties to SEIU. This is why the recent election for State Supreme Court justice on April 5th was so important.

Via Jurist:

Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen on Thursday filed a filed a Petition for Supervisory Writ [text, PDF] directly to the state Supreme Court over a circuit court judge's temporary blocking [JURIST report] of a controversial bill that limits the rights of public employee unions. The suit claims that Dane County Circuit Court [official website] Judge Maryann Sumi did not have the constitutional authority to block the publication of the Budget Repair Bill [Senate Bill 11 text, PDF]. It then asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court [official website] to immediately take jurisdiction of the case and dismiss it. A Petition for Supervisory Writ is not a direct appeal of any lower court decision, but rather a procedure that starts a new action altogether [Wis. Stat. 809.70 text] because the petitioner claims a judge violated his or her constitutional authority.

This petition not only goes to the heart of why the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election on April 5th was so important; it is an offensive move on the part of Van Hollen. He's not just asking the Supreme Court to overrule Sumi. He's going after her personally for breaking the law and violating the Constitution. He's playing hardball and if Sumi was smart, she'd agree to lift her ill-advised restraining order and order Secretary of State Doug Follette to certify the law in return for Van Hollen's dropping the lawsuit. I think we're about to find out how willing Sumi is to be a martyr for the progressive agenda.

Then again, if she does lift the restraining order, will Obama's DOJ step in?

h/t Gateway Pundit