The Wisconsin Supremes: No Charges In Alleged Fight, Bradley Not Charged With Perjury

From jsonline: Neither Supreme Court Justice David Prosser nor fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley will face criminal charges for a June altercation that broke out as the judges were considering Gov. Scott Walker's union bargaining law, a special prosecutor has determined.
But the incident still could have far-reaching effects - possibly even opening the doors of the court to the public as justices debate how to decide cases.
Breaking her silence about the altercation in a written statement Thursday, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said she would propose "the presumption will be that court conferences are open to the public," as a way to lead the fractious court back toward civility.
Abrahamson was not available for an interview, and a court spokeswoman said she could not confirm whether the chief justice was referring to deliberations on individual cases. But meetings on the court's rules and finances are usually open to the public already, unlike legal debates.
No other appellate court in the nation opens its deliberations to public scrutiny, former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske said. If Wisconsin's high court did so, "that does create huge problems in decision-making," as citizens see for the first time how the justices' reasoning and even rulings can shift in the months between the time a case is argued and time a decision is handed down, warned Geske, a Marquette University law professor.
In an interview, Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett steered clear of specifics about her reasons not to issue charges.
"The totality of the facts and the circumstances and all of the evidence that I reviewed did not support my filing criminal charges," Barrett said Thursday.
She did note, however, that varying accounts were given by witnesses - a group that would have included most of the justices and colleagues - and said that was common in cases with multiple witnesses. Barrett offered no commentary on the merits of the accusations against the two judges or on whether their conduct was fitting for justices in the state's highest court.
"It's not my job to determine what's becoming," Barrett said.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/128389748.html
Justice David Prosser gave the following statement: Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser released the following statement this morning after the decision by the special prosecutor regarding the reported incident.
“Justice Ann Walsh Bradley made the decision to sensationalize an incident that occurred at the Supreme Court. This matter has now been reviewed by Dane County Sheriff’s Department detectives, the Dane County District Attorney and an appointed independent special prosecutor. Today, the investigation of the incident has been completed.”
“I was confident the truth would come out - and it did. I am gratified that the prosecutor founds these scurrilous charges were without merit.”
“I have always maintained that once the facts of this incident were examined I would be cleared. I look forward to the details of this investigation becoming public record.”
“Being in public service has been the honor of my life. I cannot express enough thanks for the hundreds of good wishes I’ve received from people across the state in the last several weeks.”
http://www.620wtmj.com/blogs/charliesykes/128398903.html
Meanwhile, Justice Bradley gave the following: