Legislation would allow cases against federal, state officials to be heard in courts across the state
Legislation would allow cases against federal, state officials to be heard in courts across the state
MADISON - Lawsuits against prominent government officials including state lawmakers, the Wisconsin governor, and the U.S. president could be moved to any county across the state, under a proposal being circulated in the state Capitol.
The Republican-authored proposed bill would allow a case involving government officials filed in larger cities in Wisconsin, which lean politically toward Democrats, to be randomly assigned to any of the other circuit courts across the state at the request of one of the parties or intervenors in the case, who must be government officials.
The officials would be defined as state lawmakers, the state Legislature, either house of the state Legislature, legislative committees, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state, the state treasurer, the state superintendent, state department officials, the state ethics and elections commissions, the president and vice president and any member of the state's federal delegation.
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Bill authors Rep. David Steffen of Howard and Sen. Jesse James of Thorp said the measure would ensure "fair and independent decisions."
"Unfortunately, the presence of partisan power has become overwhelmingly obvious in court decisions involving partisan officials," the lawmakers said in a memo released Wednesday seeking support for the measure.
"While the officials and entities that make up our branches of government represent the broad array of values and viewpoints that exist across Wisconsin, because of our capital's location in Madison, circuit court decisions involving these parties often represent, or appear to represent, just the viewpoint of the Dane County Circuit Court," the lawmakers said.
The bill expands on a 2011 law that overhauled the state's court system and gave plaintiffs suing the state their pick of venue in Wisconsin.
Under state law before 2011, actions brought against the state went to Dane County Circuit Court unless otherwise provided for in the law. Republican lawmakers, who often criticize Dane County judges as too liberal, wanted to change the law to allow plaintiffs to pick whichever county he or she wanted. Then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the measure into law.
Under the law, the trial court's decision must be appealed to an appellate court in a different region and the party choosing to appeal would select the appeals court.
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The bill would also apply to President Donald Trump and future presidents. Presidents are not often named in state lawsuits but following the 2020 election during which Trump falsely claimed he won Wisconsin, Trump sued former President Joe Biden in Wisconsin to overturn the election result favoring Biden. The state Supreme Court rejected Trump's argument.
Gov. Tony Evers' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Laura Schulte and Molly Beck can be reached at leschulte@gannett.com and molly.beck@jrn.com.
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