WINNEBAGO COUNTY − A Winnebago County Circuit Court judge has found himself back in front of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Five years after being suspended for conduct violations, Judge Scott Woldt is set to face a judicial conduct panel following multiple claims of misconduct, including confrontations with local attorneys, from the Wisconsin Judicial Commission.
According to a complaint filed Aug. 5 in the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, Woldt verbally accosted attorneys who didn’t support his reelection campaign in 2023 and referred to himself as a “sanitational engineer” who deals with “society’s garbage” in an interview on local Oshkosh programming.
The complaint also cites that Woldt told a local Filipino psychiatrist, who was called to the stand as an expert witness, that he “better get off your butt” when the bailiff says “all rise.”
All three incidents are said to have happened in 2023.
Judge Scott Woldt denies misconduct allegations
Woldt denied the charges in a statement provided by attorney Terry E. Johnson, saying he didn’t commit “any wrongdoing of any kind.”
“He has fully and properly performed his duties as a judge and, in his statements as a private citizen, has done nothing that any private citizen would not have done in exercising his constitutional right of free speech,” the statement said.
“He looks forward to complete exoneration consistent with the earlier determination by the bipartisan Election Commission, which rejected the similar complaints filed with it,” the statement added.
Woldt, 64, is the Branch 2 judge in Winnebago County. He was appointed in 2004, first elected in 2005 and has served for more than 20 years.
Why Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended Woldt in 2021
The most recent complaint comes five years after the Supreme Court suspended Woldt without pay for various incidents including brandishing a handgun in court during a visit by high school students and the use of acerbic language directed at a defendant.
Woldt was also said to have displayed a firearm and used crude language while speaking to a victim.
What the Wisconsin Judicial Commission complaint alleges
In court documents filed Aug. 5, the Wisconsin Judicial Commission “found probable cause” that Woldt willfully violated Supreme Court Rules 60.02, 60.03(1), 60.04(1)(d), 60.04(1)(e) and 60.05(1).
Rules 60.02 and 60.04 deal with the integrity, impartiality of and independence of the judiciary.
Supreme Court Rule 60.03 states a “judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge’s activities. Rule 60.05 adds that “a judge shall so conduct the judge’s extra-judicial activities as to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial obligations.”
Many of the allegations appear to stem from Woldt’s reelection campaign for Winnebago County Circuit Court judge that he won against former circuit court judge and former Oshkosh Common Council member LaKeisha Haase in 2023.
According to the complaint, Woldt cursed two local attorneys, who endorsed Haase, at an after-work happy hour event at Ruby Owl Tap Room three weeks after he was reelected.
Woldt is said to have told one lawyer “you can’t f—ing talk to me,” “you endorsed [Haase].” The complaint goes on to say that Woldt told another attorney to “write out a check and we all good” because the election personally cost him $28,000.
The complaint also cites a March appearance on “Eye on Oshkosh” in which he calls himself a “sanitational engineer” that deals “with society’s garbage.”
Woldt further presided over a civil commitment case in Winnebago County that saw an unnamed psychiatrist representing the county as an expert witness.
In the written transcript, Woldt asks the Filipino doctor if he understands English and has any hearing difficulties before telling him “you better get off your butt” when the bailiff says all rise.
“Based upon the above allegations, the Commission has concluded, pursuant to Wisconsin Administrative Code § 4.08(6) and Wis. Stat. § 757.85(5), that probable cause exists that Judge Woldt has engaged in misconduct,” wrote Executive Director of the State Bar Jeremiah C. Van Hecke in the conclusion.
Judge Jennifer E. Nashold has been appointed as the presiding judge of the panel that includes Judge Gregory B. Gill, Jr. and Judge Sara J. Geenen.
Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@usatodayco.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Winnebago County judge accused of misconduct says he did no wrong
Reporting by Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern / Oshkosh Northwestern
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Justin Marville, Oshkosh Northwestern | USA TODAY Network
