Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Wisconsin Judicial Commission v. The Honorable Scott C. Woldt

Case No.: 2021 WI 73

Focus: Attorney Disciplinary Proceedings

We review, pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 757.91 (2019-20), a Judicial Conduct Panel’s (the Panel) findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation for discipline for the Honorable Scott C. Woldt, a judge for the Winnebago County circuit court. In a Joint Stipulation as to Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (the Joint Stipulation), Judge Woldt admitted to all of the facts in the Wisconsin Judicial Commission’s (the Commission) complaint and agreed that, based on those facts, he had violated the Code of Judicial Conduct (the Code). Based on the Joint Stipulation, the Panel found that the facts alleged in the complaint were established as true and determined that those facts supported the legal conclusion that Judge Woldt had willfully violated several rules of the Code, which constituted judicial misconduct under Wis. Stat. § 757.81(4)(a). After receiving memoranda from the parties regarding the appropriate level of discipline, the Panel recommended that this court suspend Judge Woldt without pay for a period of not less than seven nor more than 21 days.

After carefully reviewing this matter, we adopt the Panel’s findings of fact, and we agree that those facts demonstrate that Judge Woldt committed judicial misconduct. We conclude that as discipline for that misconduct, Judge Woldt should be suspended without pay for a period of seven days, commencing August 2, 2021.

Suspended from office

Concur: REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., concurs in part and dissents in part, in which ROGGENSACK, J., joined.

Dissent: REBECCA GRASSL BRADLEY, J., concurs in part and dissents in part, in which ROGGENSACK, J., joined.

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.