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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

According to the Wisconsin Constitution, the governor has the power to remove any elected county officer besides county clerks, treasurers or surveyors. In the case of district attorneys, the governor may remove a district attorney “for cause.”

However, this can only be done if a formal complaint is made by a resident within the district attorney’s jurisdiction. According to state law, the complaint “may be made only upon written verified charges brought by a resident taxpayer of the governmental unit of which the person against whom the charges are filed is an officer.”

Following offical complaints, state law calls for public hearings during which officers in question can defend themselves against the charges. Like other elected officials, district attorneys can also be removed through impeachment or recall processes.

Sources

Justia US Law: County officers; election, terms, removal; vacancies. :: Wisconsin Constitution :: Justia

Wisconsin State Legislature: Wisconsin Legislature: 17.05

Wisconsin State Legislature: Wisconsin Legislature: 17.16

FOX6 News Milwaukee | Wisconsin & Local Milwaukee News WITI: Could Governor fire DA Chisholm over Brooks’ bail?

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Erin Gretzinger joined Wisconsin Watch as a reporting intern in May 2022. She is a journalism and French major at UW-Madison and will graduate in spring 2023. Erin previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal as a reporting intern and served as the 2021-22 editor-in-chief at The Badger Herald. She is a recipient of the Jon Wolman Scholarship, the Sigrid Schultz Scholarship and the Joseph Sicherman Award Fund for her academic and reporting work.