Wisconsin Supreme Court suspends judge who left court to arrest hospitalised defendant
Published:Tuesday | May 27, 2025 | 9:49 PM
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a Dane County judge for a week Tuesday for leaving court to try to arrest a hospitalized defendant herself and getting into a sarcastic exchange with another defendant seeking a trial delay.
The court agreed with a judicial conduct review panel’s suspension recommendation for Ellen Berz, finding that she deserved more than a reprimand because she behaved impulsively and showed a lack of restraint.
The suspension will begin June 26, the court ordered.
“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. Justice Jill Karofsky, herself a former Dane County judge, did not participate in the case.
The suspension order noted that Berz has acknowledged the facts of the case and has accepted full responsibility.
Andrew Rima, one of two attorneys for Berz listed in online court records, declined to comment.
Her other attorney, Steven Caya, didn’t immediately respond to an email.
Berz is the second Wisconsin judge that the state Supreme Court has suspended in the last five weeks. The justices suspended Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan indefinitely on April 29 after federal prosecutors accused her of helping a man evade US immigration agents by showing him out a back door in her courtroom.
A federal grand jury has indicted Dugan on one count of obstruction and one count of concealing a person to prevent arrest.
She has pleaded not guilty and is set to stand trial in July.
The Wisconsin Judicial Commission filed a misconduct complaint against Berz, the Dane County judge, in October accusing her of failing to promote public confidence in judicial impartiality, failing to treat people professionally and failing to performing her duties without bias.
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