Scott Walker’s Record on Justice System Issues

The following are the statements of One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher, Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin and Research Associate Louise Lyall regarding Donald Trump attacking Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, the victim of a sexual assault perpetrated by his nominee to a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court:

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/21/2018]

Gov. Scott Walker was quick to publicly praise Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the day of his nomination, “... he fits the criteria I look for in judicial candidates.” and signing on to a letter with fellow GOP governors praising his “ ...record of upholding the Constitution and distinguished credentials.” One Wisconsin Now Research Director Joanna Beilman-Dulin today called on Walker to clarify his position on Kavanaugh’s nomination in light of a woman coming forward saying he sexually assaulted her.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/17/2018]

Shortly after President Trump announced his pick for Supreme Court, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now sent an email with the subject line: “Trump, Walker will criminalize abortion.”

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions.”

Analiese Eicher of One Wisconsin Now predicts the abortion issue will be at the “forefront of the conversation” in the governor’s race. One reason for that, she says, is because of how “extreme” Wisconsin’s ban is, allowing almost no exceptions.

“This is something folks are going to be asking people point blank,” she says. “It’s not something you can be wishy-washy about. Either you are for the right to choose or not.”

[Isthmus, 07/19/2018]

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions,” said Analiese Eicher of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now.

[Urban Milwaukee, 07/12/2018]

“If he is not blocked, Brett Kavanaugh will be the deciding vote to overturn Roe v. Wade and do what Scott Walker has been trying to do for 25 years: criminalize women having abortions,” said Analiese Eicher of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now.

[Wisconsin Public Radio, 07/11/2018]

One Wisconsin Now Program Director Analiese Eicher released the following statements about Donald Trump nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/09/2018]

Republican Gov. Scott Walker raised the issue six days after Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet, who was backed by liberals, won election to the high court. Her win in the officially nonpartisan race raised hopes among Democrats of a “blue wave” of election victories, including denying Walker a third term in November 2018. Walker was interviewed April 9, 2018 by Jay Weber, a conservative talk show host on WISN-AM in Milwaukee. Referring to Dallet’s defeat of Michael Screnock, a Sauk County circuit judge backed by Walker and other conservatives, Walker said: “Even Tuesday’s election for the Supreme Court — which, in the end, kind of boiled down to a ballot test between parties, even though it’s supposedly nonpartisan, and that’s really because Eric Holder and his group came in and made it highly partisan.” … Holder came to Wisconsin in March 2018, a few weeks before election day, to campaign for Dallet. And a group he leads said it and its affiliates spent more than $500,000 backing Dallet. That added a national partisan dimension to the campaign. But you can’t get any more partisan than a political party, and county Republican Party groups started backing Screnock months earlier, in November 2017. Ultimately, Republican Party groups, led by the state party, backed Screnock to the tune of some $400,000. For a statement that contains only some truth, we give Walker a Mostly False.

[PolitiFact, 04/11/2018]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s public fight with Sen. Tammy Baldwin continued Wednesday as the Republican governor called on the Democratic senator to give President Donald Trump’s U.S. Supreme Court nominee a vote. Baldwin said earlier this month she would not provide one of the 60 votes needed for Judge Neil Gorsuch to overcome a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. The Supreme Court seat, vacated by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, has been open for nearly a year, after Republicans refused to hold confirmation hearings for Judge Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee.

[Capital Times, 02/23/2017]

 Gov. Scott Walker, Attorney General Brad Schimel and the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), who have conspired to pack the Wisconsin State Supreme Court with judges willing to take their side, are now turning their sights to rewriting the rules for nominees to the United States Supreme Court.

[One Wisconsin Now, 02/22/2017]

Gov. Scott Walker wants to put a watchdog that polices judicial ethics under the direct control of the state Supreme Court, potentially giving justices more sway over investigations. The Judicial Commission proposal, tucked into Walker’s state budget, is one of several provisions that would eliminate or downgrade state boards overseeing private colleges, unemployment disputes and parole requests. Two years ago, lawmakers rejected the Republican governor’s attempt to end the independence of the Judicial Commission and the move even drew criticism from one conservative justice who had been charged with misconduct by the agency.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/10/2017]

The spat Thursday centers on Baldwin’s decision not to support President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Walker tweeted that Baldwin is “out of the mainstream” for not meeting with Gorsuch. Baldwin responds, “Your opportunity to weigh in on Gorsuch ended with your short-lived Pres campaign. Focus on fixing WI’s roads and bridges.” Walker shoots back, “Maybe that plays well in Madison but the rest of the state would like a Senator.” The online argument comes as both Baldwin and Walker prepare for re-election bids in 2018. Baldwin is running and Walker is expected to seek a third term.

[WMTV-TV, 02/02/2017]

Media reports say Gov. Scott Walker will announce the nomination of Daniel Kelly to replace retiring Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser late Friday afternoon.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/22/2016]

Records released Friday by Gov. Scott Walker’s office in response to a judge’s order make clear he sought controversial changes in 2015 to the University of Wisconsin System’s mission statement, known as the Wisconsin Idea. The office made public 82 pages of records late Friday after Dane County Judge Amy Smith said Walker’s office erroneously withheld 12 email exchanges and six of nine attachments from the public… Walker’s release of records on Friday comes as the governor on Twitter has been hammering Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 05/28/2016]

Late Tuesday, a state court of appeals judge granted Attorney General Brad Schimel’s request to reinstate the law while the appeals court decides whether it’s constitutional. The ruling was issued by Lisa K. Stark, the presiding judge for the District 3 Court of Appeals in Wausau. “We feel confident the law will ultimately be found constitutional, as it has been in more than half the states across the country,” said Johnny Koremenos, spokesman for Schimel. Last year, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-led Legislature made Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 05/23/2016]

Some voters might not have been able to cast ballots this fall if not for a new state rule put in place on the eve of a trial over Wisconsin’s voter ID law, the official responsible for issuing ID cards testified Monday. Her testimony came as the federal judge hearing the trial expressed serious concern about voters who have found themselves in a Catch-22 in getting IDs needed to vote because they lack birth certificates or other key documents…Some people have found themselves caught up in that process for months and, at least in one case, for nearly two years. These are the voters who the judge described as stuck. Just before the trial started, GOP Gov. Scott Walker approved new state rules that will allow such people to quickly get temporary receipts with their photos printed on them that they can use for voting while they wait for a determination on whether they can get a state-issued ID… During Monday’s exchanges, lawyers for the plaintiffs homed in on racial disparities, noting minorities make up a big share of those needing ID cards because they don’t have driver’s licenses, as well as a large chunk of those facing the toughest time getting IDs.

[Appleton Post-Crescent, 05/23/2016]

More than half of the applicants vying to replace retiring Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser already owe their jobs to Gov. Scott Walker – and now he could tap one of them for the state’s highest court… Walker expects to appoint a replacement by the time Prosser retires on July 31. It will be the Republican governor’s second appointment to the state’s highest court.

[WISN-TV, 05/20/2016]

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court dealt Gov. Scott Walker a defeat on Wednesday, upholding a ruling that preserves the independence of the state’s elected education secretary and denies the governor veto power he sought over the office… The state constitution “requires the Legislature to keep the supervision of public instruction in the hands of officers of supervision of public instruction,” Justice Michael Gableman wrote for the majority. “To do otherwise would require a constitutional amendment…” That law raised questions about whether it was a violation of the 1996 state Supreme Court ruling that the Department of Public Instruction was independent of the governor’s control.

[Chicago Tribune, 05/18/2016]

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson has been front and center with Washington D.C. Republicans refusing to do their jobs on President Obama’s nominee to the U. S. Supreme Court. Johnson has attempted to excuse his unprecedented gridlock claiming President Obama, serving a four year term won with the votes of 65 million Americans, should not make a nomination as required by the U.S. Constitution, instead waiting until after the next election to fill the court vacancy. With right-wing state Supreme Court Justice David Prosser’s abrupt, mid-term retirement One Wisconsin Institute Executive Director Scot Ross wondered if Johnson will also advise Gov. Scott Walker to wait until after the next gubernatorial election to fill the state vacancy.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 04/29/2016]

Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker as he was mounting his run for president, was struck down Friday as violating the state constitution…“We are confident Wisconsin’s freedom-to-work law is constitutional and will ultimately be upheld,” Walker wrote on Twitter. Three unions filed the lawsuit last year shortly after Walker signed the bill into law. Right-to-work laws prohibit businesses and unions from reaching agreements that require all workers, not just union members, to pay union dues. Twenty-four other states have such laws.

[Associated Press, 04/06/2016]

A spokeswoman for Gov. Scott Walker, who appointed Bradley to three judgeships in as many years — including as Supreme Court justice last fall — said Monday that “neither the Governor nor our office was aware of the columns.” The spokeswoman did not immediately respond to whether Walker would have appointed Bradley had he known. “Justice Bradley appropriately made it clear today that a column written in college does not reflect her views as a Supreme Court Justice, a court of appeals judge, a circuit court judge or as an attorney,” Walker said in a statement.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 03/08/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that creates uniform restrictions on where violent sex offenders can live.Municipalities currently use local ordinances to create zones where sex offenders can’t live.The bill creates statewide regulations barring violent sex offenders from living within 1,500 feet of any school, day care, youth center, church or public park. Sex offenders who committed crimes against children can’t live next door to children. Sex offenders who committed crimes against an elderly or disabled person can’t live within 1,500 feet of a nursing home or other assisted living facility. Local ordinances will generally remain enforceable. Walker signed the bill privately on Monday.

[Associated Press, 02/29/2016]

Gov. Scott Walker says he doesn’t expect the Wisconsin state Senate will pass a bill banning sanctuary cities, and he’s “just fine with that.” Walker said Wednesday that his focus is on bills that help improve the state’s economy. The Assembly last week passed the bill that says local governments can’t prohibit police from inquiring about immigration status of someone charged with a crime or from working with federal immigration authorities.

[Associated Press, 02/24/2016]

A state Supreme Court justice on Tuesday urged Gov. Scott Walker to allow people to use veterans ID cards to vote after her uncle who fought at Iwo Jima was unable to cast a ballot in last week’s primary election. “It makes no sense to me that this proud patriot with a veterans card displaying his photo would be turned away from the polls and denied the right to vote,” Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wrote to the Republican governor. In her letter, Bradley said her uncle had fought at Iwo Jima, the bloody World War II battle that was immortalized in a photo of the U.S. flag being raised on the tiny Pacific island.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/23/2016]

Tougher penalties for repeat drunken drivers, once a tough sell to Wisconsin lawmakers, have won widespread backing in the state Capitol in recent weeks. But with stronger penalties now a step from becoming law, legislators have not addressed how they’ll pay for more prison time for repeat offenders — a figure that could top $100 million annually. The Assembly passed a bill Tuesday to make all fourth-time drunken driving offenses felonies and boost maximum penalties for subsequent convictions. The bill passed the Senate last month and cleared the Legislature with just a single dissenting vote. A spokeswoman for Gov. Scott Walker, Laurel Patrick, said Wednesday that he plans to sign the bill.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/18/2016]

A Racine County judge warned Gov. Scott Walker’s office in 2012 of severe safety issues at the state’s youth prison, and later the county stopped sending its juvenile offenders to the Irma facility that is now the subject of a criminal investigation. The letter, sent to Walker in February 2012, appears at odds with Walker’s previous statements that he was made aware of allegations of abuse at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls within the past year. Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said the governor was not shown the letter from Racine County Circuit Judge Richard Kreul.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 02/12/2016]

Four years before abuse allegations put a state prison for youth in headlines, the institution botched its response to a sexual assault of an inmate so badly that an entire county stopped sending offenders there. Their confidence shaken, Racine County officials pulled all their youth offenders from the state-run Lincoln Hills School for Boys in Irma and sharply criticized the handling of the 2012 incident to Gov. Scott Walker and high-ranking officials in the Department of Corrections. Records of the incident show clearly that despite Walker’s repeated statements that he was surprised by more recent allegations of abuse, his office and his administration were told of troubling conduct at the prison in February 2012. Then-Racine County Circuit Judge Richard Kreul sent a memo directly to Walker on Feb. 10, 2012, detailing the alleged sexual assault and the failure of Lincoln Hills staff to notify law enforcement, child protective services and county officials about it.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/11/2016]

Walker formed a nonprofit political organization called Our American Revival that raised $6.21 million in the first half of the year. His political advisers also launched their own Super PAC, Unintimidated PAC, which raised $20 million in the second quarter of the year.

[Wisconsin State Journal, 01/31/2016]

A proposal now before Gov. Scott Walker and lawmakers would give seven counties, including Calumet County, an additional circuit court judge each. If that were to happen, Froehlich’s caseload would be cut in half, he said. That would let him give cases more attention and eliminate the need for a judge from another county to be called in if a case needed to be reassigned.

[WI Law Journal, 12/11/2015]

The state Supreme Court has denied a special prosecutor’s request to reopen an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s recall campaign, a decision the prosecutor says he plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if he has the money and personnel to do so. However, the state high court also ruled that special prosecutor Francis Schmitz’s appointment was invalid, casting doubt on his ability to represent the prosecution in future court proceedings and raising the possibility that one of the district attorneys originally involved in the case could intervene… Walker told reporters Wednesday that “this was one more instance where (the process) validated what we’ve said all along.”

[WiscNews, 12/03/2015]

Putting political advantage and cronyism before qualifications, Gov. Scott Walker announced today he has appointed Rebecca Bradley to the open seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Bradley, an announced candidate for the court in 2016, has been appointed by Walker to the only other judicial positions she has held and was one of only three applicants for a position on the high court.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/09/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker announced the appointment of state Appeals Court Judge Rebecca Bradley to the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday, bolstering the court’s conservative majority. It’s the third judicial appointment Walker has given Bradley in as many years… Democrats have criticized Walker’s decision to appoint an announced candidate so close to the election, but Walker and Bradley dismissed suggestions that she is being given an advantage. “I think it’s incumbent upon any governor, Democrat or Republican, to put the best person on the bench, and my view is I shouldn’t disqualify someone just because they’re an announced candidate,” Walker told reporters Friday. “I think she’s the best person to be on the Supreme Court today, and I believe next April she’ll be the best person to serve on the Supreme Court. So I’m not making a political endorsement at this time, but I wouldn’t put somebody on the bench that I didn’t think belonged there. So I think it’s pretty clear what my opinion is,” Walker said… Bradley downplayed the significance of Walker’s tacit endorsement after appointing her to three positions. The governor’s approval rating is 37 percent among Wisconsin voters, the lowest it’s been since the Marquette University Law School poll began measuring it. Asked whether she thinks Walker’s support would help her or hurt her, Bradley said she doesn’t think voters will be influenced by it one way or the other. “I think when the voters are evaluating judicial candidates, they look less at who’s appointed them and they look at their record on the bench, how they conduct their campaigns and what their qualifications and experiences are,” Bradley said.

[Capital Times, 10/09/2015]

 Gov. Scott Walker appears set to add to his record of cronyism, corruption and incompetence with the appointment of his political crony, Rebecca Bradley, to yet another judicial post, time a seat on the state’s high court. Bradley has been appointed by Walker to both of the seats she has held in her brief career as a judge and is an announced candidate for the Spring 2016 Wisconsin Supreme Court seat to which Walker appears poised to appoint her.

[One Wisconsin Now, 10/05/2015]

Governor Walker, before he withdrew from the presidential race, said he thought abortion should be forbidden even if the mother dies,” Judge Richard Posner said during arguments. “Is that kind of official Wisconsin policy?” “That perhaps is Governor Walker’s personal opinion,” but it’s not the state’s policy, responded Assistant Attorney General Brian Keenan. The GOP governor, who dropped out of the presidential race last week, said in August that choosing between the life of a mother and a fetus was a “false choice” and that better options were always available.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/01/2015]

Scot Ross, executive director of liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, said appointing Bradley to the seat would allow her political ads next spring to refer to her as “Justice Bradley,” and that would be “unseemly.” [Wisconsin State Journal, 09/23/2015]

Critics questioned whether some justices should have weighed in on the case at all. The liberal group One Wisconsin Now had previously called for the four judges who formed the majority to recuse themselves, because they had received more than $8 million in campaign donations from parties named in the investigation. [Capital Times, 07/16/2015]

Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and outside groups accused of illegally coordinating campaign activities were let off the hook today by four justices of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. The four justices whose opinion halts an investigation and possible prosecution of Walker's campaign and allies and orders records to be destroyed were the beneficiaries of at least $10 million in campaign spending by parties named in the investigation.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/16/2015]

One Wisconsin Now called the decision a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for powerful interests that invest in Supreme Court races. “The vast majority of spending to elect these four justices was done by these entities,” Ross said. [Daily Beast, 01/21/2015]

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, with Justice Ann Walsh Bradley abstaining, has voted to hear several appeals related to the criminal investigation of collusion between the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker and outside groups. According to news reports, one of the appellants whose case the court has voted to hear is R.J. Johnson, a paid political consultant for Gov. Walker who also directed the Club for Growth (CFG) Wisconsin, a group that spent millions to help elect Walker and several of the justices voting to hear the case.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/17/2014]

Leading up to the November 4 election, Gov. Scott Walker stated if re-elected he was not interested in pursuing legislation to further restrict the rights of Wisconsin workers. Yet less than one month after he survived a heated re-election bid, a new group with ties to a right-wing, big money cabal that underwrites conservative causes and has supported Gov. Walker, announced it will work to pass legislation to further restrict workplace rights in Wisconsin.

[One Wisconsin Now, 12/01/2014]

A reminder from April 14 of how four of seven Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices owe their current elected position to the millions of dollars in spending in their races by the Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufactures and Commerce. Gov. Scott Walker has previously asked the appeal of the Peterson ruling go directly to the state Supreme Court.

[One Wisconsin Now, 09/25/2014]

 In an amicus brief filed today with the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Frank v. Walker, One Wisconsin Institute shares research with the court demonstrating Wisconsin citizens have significantly less access to the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to obtain a state identification than citizens in Indiana. According to One Wisconsin Institute Executive Director Scot Ross, the comparison is critical to differentiating Wisconsin from Indiana, where a split decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld that state’s voter ID law.

[One Wisconsin Institute, 09/22/2014]

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court’s decision on Gov. Scott Walker’s discriminatory Voter Identification bill utterly ignores the inaccessibility of Department of Motor Vehicles, compared to Indiana, where the law was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. While today’s action will have no immediate effect on voters due to a federal case before the courts, several facts make the state courts ruling all the more alarming.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/31/2014]

 Today’s state Supreme Court decisions supporting Gov. Scott Walker’s attacks on workers and voters were spearheaded by a four-member majority bloc that was elected through $8 million in spending by two of Walker’s biggest special interest supporters – Wisconsin Club for Growth and Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/31/2014]

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is not simply a conservative, public interest law firm. It is a virtual extension of the political apparatus surrounding Gov. Scott Walker, engaging in ‘issue litigation’ to advance and protect his interests.

[One Wisconsin Now, 07/11/2014]

 In comments reported by the news service WisPolitics.com, Gov. Scott Walker admitted he personally solicited contributions for the Wisconsin Club for Growth (WCFG) in 2011 and 2012. During early 2011, WCFG spent an estimated $320,000 plus in advertising surrounding Justice David Prosser's re-election race, and funded the entire budget of another group, Citizens for a Strong America (CSA), that spent over $800,000.

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/27/2014]

 Just released filings related to the ongoing John Doe investigation into allegations of illegal coordination between Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and a host of conservative organizations show Gov. Walker withdrew his own 2011 appointment of then-Government Accountability Board Chair David Deininger following a unanimous vote by the board to proceed with an investigation of the allegations.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/16/2014]

 One Wisconsin Now has filed a formal letter with the seven justices of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, urging four of the court's justices to recuse themselves from a legal request by the campaign of Gov. Scott Walker related to the ongoing John Doe investigation surrounding allegations of illegal coordination between Republican-aligned groups during the recall of Walker.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/14/2014]

Citing numbers from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, OWN executive director Scot Ross noted the four-member conservative majority on the court had benefited from millions of dollars in outside spending by the groups targeted by the investigation. “The parties that Gov. Walker’s legal appeal would protect from investigation have spent millions to put a right-wing majority on the court,” Ross said. “It would be an unprecedented assault on ethical government and the integrity of the court if these same justices took the case and participated in a decision.”

[Wisconsin State Journal, 04/12/2014]

 Defense lawyers for Gov. Walker are reportedly appealing to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and its right-wing majority, to try to protect him from prosecutors investigating alleged illegal coordination between his campaign and right-wing groups. One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross questioned whether the conservative court majority might be too friendly with Gov. Walker and groups targeted in the probe to credibly take or judge the case.

[One Wisconsin Now, 04/11/2014]

Signed a bill that set limits on liability in tort actions and failed to protect veterans who become sick as a result of asbestos exposure during military service and for a bill that creates discovery and scheduling requirements for certain types of tort actions and limits a defendant's liability for a plaintiff's injury under certain circumstances. Under the bill, a plaintiff who files a tort action must disclose, within 30 days after he or she files the action, whether he or she has filed or anticipates filing a claim against a personal injury trust. The bill particularly impacts persons seeking damages related to asbestos claims.

[2013 AB 19, Senate Vote, 01/01/2013]

One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne released the following statements on the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding “ObamaCare.”

[One Wisconsin Now, 06/27/2012]

In early February, Gov. Scott Walker announced he had “lawyered-up” in the ongoing criminal investigation of his administration, retaining two high profile criminal defense attorneys. His continuing refusal to disclose how he is paying for his lawyers, whose billing rates could approach $1,000 per-hour, raises troubling ethical concerns, according to One Wisconsin Now Deputy Director Mike Browne.

[One Wisconsin Now, 03/08/2012]

Walker signed into law a bill which would limit attorneys’ fees to three times the amount of compensatory damages. (2011 September Special Session SB 12, introduced 10/11/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call)

[2011 WI Act 92, 12/07/2011]

Opponents of a pair of Republican-backed litigation reform bills argued before a state Assembly committee Friday that the proposals will gut consumer protection laws and effectively stop the filing of lawsuits against companies that break the law. One measure would limit the amount plaintiff's attorneys can charge in some cases to three times the amount of any monetary award. Another would lower the amount of interest that people who successfully sue for injuries can collect on their judgments, while the higher interest rate would remain for judgments awarded to banks and credit card companies that take their customers to court….Another lawsuit reform bill not heard on Friday but backed by Walker and Republicans would give drug-makers and medical device manufacturers immunity from lawsuits if their products had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The immunity would not be granted if they committed fraud. Walker's spokesman Cullen Werwie has defended the bills, saying they deal with the type of claims that affect job creators for the long term and the changes proposed will "help create certainty and confidence in the state's legal climate."

[Associated Press, 10/21/2011]

In trying to tie the lawsuit reforms to job creation, Walker asserted the issue is "one of the most important factors" when businesses are deciding to expand or invest in Wisconsin. That’s a major overreach. He cited a series of national surveys, which show it’s a concern but lack Wisconsin data and don’t weigh how the concern stacks up against other issues. In the surveys of state businesses we found, lawsuit reform is on the radar screen -- but a blip behind taxes, regulation and other issues. We rate Walker's claim False.

[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 02/02/2011]

Walker signed into law a bill that limited the amount of damages victims can receive in lawsuits, including: Limit non-economic damages - payments for loss of companionship, mental distress and pain and suffering - to $750,000 in medical malpractice cases at nursing homes. That limit matches the one already in place for other types of medical malpractice cases; limit punitive damages to $200,000 or double the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is higher; raise the threshold for winning punitive damages in lawsuits so that plaintiffs would have to prove that defendants acted "with intent to cause injury to a particular person" or with a knowledge that their action would lead to that result. Now, plaintiffs have a lower threshold of proving that defendants acted maliciously or with intentional disregard for the rights of victims; Prevent reports required by state regulators, or statements from employees of a health care provider, from being used as evidence in civil and criminal actions; Raise the standards for qualifying people as experts when they give court testimony; Block lawsuits from proceeding in cases where plaintiffs cannot prove who harmed them. The change was a response to a 2005 state Supreme Court decision that allowed a case against seven paint manufacturers to advance to trial even though the plaintiff could not prove who made the lead-based paints that he said poisoned him as a child. (2011 January Special Session SB 1, introduced 1/5/11; Senate Roll Call; Assembly Roll Call) [2011 WI Act 2, 01/27/2011]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) signed into law today Special Session Senate Bill 1, legislation aimed at reforming the state's civil justice system. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) commended newly-elected Gov. Walker and the new Wisconsin legislature for their leadership in responding quickly to their mandate to restore business confidence and for making tort reform one of their top priorities to achieve this goal. "Wisconsin's legislature and Gov. Walker should be lauded for their immediate attention to reforming the state's legal system. They are the first of many states expected to consider such tort reforms as part of job creation packages in 2011," said Amy Kjose, ALEC's Civil Justice Task Force Director. "Reforming state legal systems is often a budget-neutral way, or sometimes even a budget-positive way, to restore confidence for businesses as the economy struggles to recover." The bill comes at a critical time, when Gov. Walker called the legislature into special session for the express purpose of decreasing burdens on business and reigniting the state's sluggish economy. This bill is a strong piece of reform legislation that will have a significant impact on Wisconsin's legal climate and economic viability.

[ALEC, 01/27/2011]

A special interest group that calls itself a partner of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) will begin spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on television starting Friday to promote Scott Walker in the Republican primary for governor.

[One Wisconsin Now, 05/12/2010]

The bill “establishes the criteria to determine if a product manufacturer, distributor or seller is liable to a person injured by the manufactured product” and “specifies when a manufactured product is defective.” [1999 AB 884, 01/01/1999]

The bill established maximum amounts, “that a claimant may recover for noneconomic damages caused by the negligence of a health care provider or health care provider employee.

[1995 AB 36, 02/02/1995]

The new law revised standards and procedures for awarding punitive damages in certain civil cases. [1995 WI Act 17, 01/01/1995]

The bill proposed several changes to the state family leave law including eliminating, “civil actions for violations of the family and medical leave law.”

[1995 AB 200, 01/01/1995]