The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a Dane County judge for her actions in 2021, when she attempted to arrest a hospitalized defendant herself after he didn't show up for trial.
The state Supreme Court ordered the seven-day suspension of Ellen Berz after a judicial conduct review panel said she acted "impulsively" and failed to perform her duties without bias, according to the Wisconsin Supreme Court order obtained by The Hill. Her suspension will begin on June 26.
“We believe that the recommended seven-day suspension is of sufficient length to impress upon Judge Berz the necessity of patience, impartiality, and restraint in her work, and to demonstrate to the public the judiciary’s dedication to promoting professionalism among its members,” the justices wrote in the suspension order.
"Judges must maintain objectivity, open-mindedness, and decorum, even when — especially when — they are faced with trying circumstances," the review panel's report read.
The court order detailed a December 2021 incident in which Berz presided over an operating-while-intoxicated case. The defendant did not show up for the trial on the day it was set to begin. His attorney told Berz that the defendant was admitted to the hospital.
Instead of issuing a bench warrant for his non-appearance or moving the case to a future date, Berz directed a staff member to determine his location, the complaints said. After they located him, Berz first ordered the bailiff to go arrest him, but was told the bailiff couldn’t leave the courthouse.
Berz then told the courtroom she would retrieve the defendant from the hospital herself, adding that if something happened to her, they would hear about it on the news. She also asked the defendant’s attorney to join, but not inform the defendant that they were on their way.
She then left the court and started the drive to the emergency room with the defendant’s attorney. There was no prosecutor in the vehicle.
However, Berz turned around after the defense attorney told her the trip was a bad idea because the judge must remain neutral in the case, the complaint read.
Berz returned to court and instead issued a warrant for the defendant's arrest.
"The bailiffs have refused to arrest the defendant, to leave the courthouse in order to do so, so I’m ordering a body-only warrant," she said upon her return, according to the complaint.
The court order also detailed a separate exchange in May 2019, where she got into a sarcastic exchange with a child sexual assault defendant who had asked to delay his trial for a second time.
"You’re not playing that game anymore after this," she told him after granting a delay.
"Go to the prison and talk to them about all the games you can play. We’re done here. Clear?" she asked the defendant.
When the defendant responded that her sarcasm was clear, she replied, “Good. I thought it would be. That’s why I’m saying it to you that way, because I thought you would relate with that.”
Berz is the second Wisconsin judge recently suspended by the state Supreme Court. In April, the court suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan indefinitely after federal prosecutors accused her of assisting a migrant evade immigration authorities. A federal grand jury indicted Dugan on the charge earlier this month.
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