The Dane County district attorney’s lawsuit alleging an open meetings violation took place in the passage of the collective bargaining bill became more convoluted Thursday after a couple parties and non-parties to the case filed papers requesting further review of the case proceedings.
Secretary of the Department of Administration Mike Huebsch, Secretary of State Doug La Follette and one representative each raised an issue with District Attorney Ismael Ozanne’s lawsuit against the state.
Through the Department of Justice, Huebsch petitioned the state’s Supreme Court Thursday to review Ozanne’s case in order to dismiss it and remove the temporary restraining order prohibiting publication and implementation of the governor’s collective bargaining bill. He also asked that the restraining order be lifted and all further court proceedings be canceled while the Supreme Court reviews his petition.
“We are confident that Act 10 is now law, but I am not in a position to implement its provisions until the Supreme Court provides guidance about the circuit court’s authority and speaks to the constitutional issues that have been raised,” Huebsch said in a statement.
He added though Dane County judge Maryann Sumi included Huebsch in her temporary restraining order, he is still not a party in the lawsuit, which is why he is seeking the Supreme Court’s advice.
Secretary of State La Follette filed a document Wednesday with the Supreme Court asking to substitute his DOJ-provided legal counsel with an attorney of his choosing and to withdraw or dismiss the DOJ’s appeal of the Dane County Circuit Court’s decision, which was filed with his name listed as a defendant.
The document said La Follette was not consulted prior to the DOJ’s filing the appeal, nor did he consent to the motion.
However, the DOJ disagreed with the filing and said it continues to believe the DOJ represented the interests of the office of the secretary of state.
“DOJ is concerned that there are inaccuracies in the filing which suggest that Secretary LaFollette was not consulted and was not in agreement with our decisions,” DOJ spokesperson Bill Cosh said in a statement.
After speaking with his attorney on the DOJ’s remarks, LaFollette said in an email to The Badger Herald he would continue to stand by the facts in the document filed with the Supreme Court.
Another lawmaker questioned a member of the DOJ’s ability to represent the state at all in the case after he acquired an email sent by DOJ Assistant Attorney General Thomas Bellavia to two Democratic senators while they were missing in Illinois.
Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Green Bay, asked the DOJ to investigate the email, in which Bellavia told Senators Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, and Mark Miller, D-Monona, that he was a “political supporter” of their efforts regarding the budget repair bill.
The DOJ defended its employee and pointed out the email was sent from a personal email address and Bellavia was not acting on the DOJ’s behalf.
“Anyone following the litigation over the budget repair bill will quickly recognize the absurdity of Nass’ suggestion that DOJ is not vigorously defending the legislature’s lawmaking prerogatives and other weighty constitutional principles that District Attorney Ozanne seeks to cast aside,” DOJ Executive Assistant Steve Means said in a statement.
