Michael Gableman
Michael Gableman | |
|---|---|
2008 portrait | |
| Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court | |
| In office August 1, 2008 – July 31, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Louis B. Butler |
| Succeeded by | Rebecca Dallet |
| Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge for the Burnett Circuit | |
| In office May 2002 – July 31, 2008 | |
| Appointed by | Scott McCallum |
| Preceded by | James Taylor |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Kutz |
| District Attorney of Ashland County | |
| In office May 1999 – May 2002 | |
| Appointed by | Tommy Thompson |
| Preceded by | J. B. Van Hollen |
| Succeeded by | Sean Duffy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 18, 1966 West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | |
Michael J. Gableman (born September 18, 1966) is an American lawyer and former justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (2008–2018). A Republican, he has been described as a hard-line conservative.
From June 2021 until August 2022, Gableman was employed as a "special counsel" by Wisconsin Assembly speaker Robin Vos to investigate the results of the 2020 United States presidential election in Wisconsin. His fourteen-month investigation resulted in various unsubstantiated accusations against municipal clerks and members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, and cost the state more than two million dollars. Gableman himself became a lightning rod for controversy and was the subject of several lawsuits and personal disputes with other officials; he was ultimately fired by Vos just three days after the August 2022 primary elections in Wisconsin. Vos later referred to Gableman as "an embarrassment to the state".
In a February 2024 settlement to one lawsuit, Assembly Republican leadership conceded that Gableman had violated state public records laws during his investigation. In April 2025, Gableman accepted a three-year suspension of his license to practice law to settle ongoing legal and ethical complaints stemming from his investigation and the subsequent litigation.