Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

[Riot]

Wed Mar 30, 2011 at 12:07 PM PDT
Wisconsin GOP Cockiness Flops in Court - Updated w/GOP effort to remove Duffy tape from net
by Patriot Daily News

Yesterday, this little link on the website of the Wisconsin State Legislature was the focus of a court hearing with Judge Maryann Sumi. Instead of GOP lawyers coming to court with citations to relevant law, the primary argument was political hubris that the courts should just bow to their wisdom. Specifically, the GOP pronounced that legal proceedings are now moot because the anti-union law has been "published" by the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB).

Judge Sumi rejected this mootness argument offered by the Department of Justice in an attempt to halt the hearings yesterday on its claim that the "law is now in effect. "

The Court of Appeal similarly rejected a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw its appeal of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued March 18th on the DOJ's claim that the lawsuit is now moot given that the Legislative Reference Bureau "published" the law, which they claim is now in effect.

The Court of Appeal rejected because it had already certified questions in this case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Moreover, the Court noted that the Attorney General was not just seeking an order to allow him to withdraw his petition, but wanted the court to rule on an "entirely new" question of whether the LRB's posting of a link on a website rendered the anti-union law now in effect.

As the Court of Appeal stated: "The Attorney General's desire for a ruling on this issue is apparent because the only ground he offers to justify withdrawal is his legal argument and assertion that the act has become law."

If they were smart, the GOP might just ponder why it can't bully the courts as they did bully and pressure the LRB to post the link that landed them in court.

Testimony in court yesterday showed that the Attorney General's office and Senator Fitzgerald pressured the LRB to "publish the law. LRB witnesses testified that Fitzgerald is the "boss" of LRB and so his "request" to "publish" the law was interpreted "at the level of insisting."

This impression that the LRB was being directed to post the link to the anti-union law was fortified by additional facts. Fitzgerald also told LRB to speak to the Deputy AG, who advised that a failure to publish might subject LRB to court action. In addition, the Deputy AG asked the LRB to e-mail him with confirmation once the law was "published."

Sen. Fitzgerald had a 45-minute meeting with LRB on the 25th, the day the LRB posted the link. "Attending the meeting were Fitzgerald; Stephen Miller, chief of the reference bureau; Cathlene Hanaman, the deputy chief of the bureau; Jeff Kuesel, an attorney with the bureau; and Rob Marchant, the Senate chief clerk."

Hanaman testified that the publication date was added to the LRB posting of link to anti-union law because "He is our boss, so a request from him would be at the level of insisting," Hanaman said of Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald suggested that Miller call the top aide to the AG, Deputy AG Kevin St. John, after the meeting.

St. John "said he thought under the statutes LRB had a duty to publish that was distinct and independent from the duties of the secretary of state," Miller testified. "He said that it would be possible the LRB would be subject to a (court action) if we didn't do publication."

Miller said St. John asked him to e-mail him once the law was published, and Miller did so.

The Attorney General also lost in court one of his political tools of using the name of the Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette to file lawsuits in his name to give the impression that the AG's position was not political.

Judge Sumi "ordered the Department of Justice to provide La Follette with independent attorneys because the two sides disagree on key issues."

This is another example of hubris foiling the GOP as Follette was not pleased that "his attorneys" were not asking questions of witnesses on his behalf the way an attorney should when representing a client.

The GOP also lost in the hearing on an issue that could have ramifications in the court of public opinion as well as with the judge. At issue was whether a video played in the court yesterday should be done with or without audio. The purpose of this video evidence was to confirm the location and participants of the Joint Conference Committee that violated the Open Meetings Law by holding the meeting without proper notice.

The DOJ objected to playing the video with the audio on the grounds that it does not prove anything about open meetings. Yeah, right: This is the video where the sole Democrat, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, objected to the meeting on the grounds that it violated the open meetings law.

This video is good evidence that the lawmakers knowingly attended a meeting in violation of the law, which is required for the District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to obtain forfeiture or a small monetary penalty against the defendants.

The importance of this forfeiture is it would be based on a court finding that the lawmakers knowingly violated the law. While this video has made the rounds on DK and other blogs, it is now part of the court record viewed by both media and a very interested public.

Today, the Dane County GOP displayed their own partisan cockiness by issuing a press release that attacked Judge Sumi as a "leftist" member of the elite while they, the GOP, "prioritize the Constitution and the well being of the people of Wisconsin over foie gras at cocktail parties."

Yes, please keep showing the public how much you care about them and are fighting for them, rather than your own wacky political agenda.

update #1: One member of the Walker administration is now blinking.

Wednesday Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said that he was "confused" about the judge's ruling and the legal controversy over whether the law is in effect. Asked whether the state would move forward, Huebsch said he couldn't say.

"It's up to the judge," Huebsch said.

…On Monday, Huebsch had said that he believed the law took effect Saturday, and the state was charging employees more for their benefits and had ceased collecting dues on behalf of unions. Those changes would show up on checks issued April 21.

update #2: Speaking of the elite, Wisconsin County GOP want embarrassing Duffy video REMOVED from the Internet!

First the Republican Party in Polk County, Wisconsin, pulled the tape of Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) fretting about making ends meet on his $174,000 a year salary from its own website. Now they want it gone from the whole Internet.

For a couple hours, the local county GOP was successful. But we've put an excerpt of the video back up.

His salary that he whines about is "nearly three times the median income in Wisconsin."

I can guarantee you, or most of you, I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With 6 kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I'm living high on the hog, I've got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I'm not living high on the hog.