Doug Mataconis · · 8 comments

The bizarre allegations surrounding two members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court are now in the hands of law enforcement:

Two agencies are investigating a claim by Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley that Justice David Prosser put her in a chokehold earlier this month – an allegation Gov. Scott Walker on Monday called extremely serious.

Asked if the reports about Prosser’s behavior, if true, merited his resignation, Walker said: “I don’t even want to go down that path . . . other than to say that just based on the allegations that were made, I can’t overemphasize how serious I think the situation is there. Until we know what happened, I don’t think it’s best for anybody for me to comment on what the next step is.”

The separate investigations are being run by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, which oversees the state’s judicial ethics code. The sheriff’s investigation was launched Monday; the commission’s was authorized Friday and publicly acknowledged Monday.

“After consulting with members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, I have turned over the investigation into an alleged incident in the court’s offices on June 13, 2011, to Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney,” Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office in a statement acknowledged it was taking over the case, but declined further comment.

It was not clear why Tubbs would consult with members of the court on who should investigate the matter.

“The sheriff and Judicial Commission can expect the full cooperation of Justice Prosser, who believes a thorough and impartial review will be the proper channel for the facts surrounding this incident to be reported to the general public,” Prosser spokesman Brian Nemoir said in a statement.

Prosser himself declined to comment. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, reached by telephone Monday night, was asked about the incident.

“It’s under investigation,” she said, declining to comment further. Other justices either declined to comment or did not return calls Monday. The justices spent much of Monday working together behind closed doors on cases as they finalize decisions before the end of the court’s term Thursday.