Judge Michael Bitney of Barron, WI; ethical troll

The state of Wisconsin provided  Michael Bitney with a law license in 1989 after he graduated from the University of Wisconsin School of Law.

From 1993 until his judicial appointment in 2013, Bitney served Washburn County as a district attorney. Be

Former Gov. Scott Walker was duped into appointing Mikey as a Barron County Circuit Court judge in 2013. Mikey didn’t get the appointment because he was the most qualified

It should be noted that Mikey has had his significant snout firmly implanted in the public trough for at least twenty-seven (27) years since she graduated from NYU. Apparently, no self-respecting law firm in the greater Baron County area was about to offer him a good paying job.

In one matter, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that a woman’s request to modify custody should be relitigated before a different judge. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) The court stated that Judge Bitney created the appearance of partiality when he accepted a Facebook friend request from a woman before giving her sole custody of her son.

Judge Bitney accepted the friend request after a June 2017 evidentiary hearing in which the woman introduced evidence that the child’s father had abused her; however, the father denied the claim of abuse.

Bitney accepted the woman’s Facebook request without disclosing the connection to the father or his lawyer, and before he ruled on her case, the woman liked 18 of the Bitney’s Facebook posts and commented on two of them. She also shared a photo from a third party that related to domestic violence.

Judge Bitney then ruled for the woman on July 14, 2017, awarding her sole legal custody and primary physical placement of the boy. After the Facebook connection was discovered, Bitney, in a lame attempt at levity,  said it didn’t affect his decision because he already had decided how he was going to rule.

In reversing Judge Bitney’s custody ruling, the Court of Appeals said:

• “The timing of Bitney’s acceptance of the friend request could cause a reasonable person to question the judge’s impartiality.”
• “Failure to disclose the Facebook friendship heightened the appearance of partiality and created concerns about one-sided ex parte (one-sided) communications.”

As we speak (ca. March 2019), Bitney continues to sit as a a Barron County Circuit Court judge in Barron, Wisconsin.