Supreme Court Won’t Hear Legislature Lawsuit Against AG Kaul

Over a year after the Wisconsin Legislature first filed an original action against Wisconsin Attorney General Kaul for violating 2017 Wis. Act 369, the Wisconsin Supreme Court finally ruled: it won’t hear the case.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court recently upheld the constitutionality of the majority of the lame duck laws this past July, including Act 369 in SEIU, Local 1 v. Vos. Brought in August 2019, the legislature’s challenge was the fifth and final lawsuit brought in connection to Act 369 and the only one with the legislature as a plaintiff.

As an original action, the legislature petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the case instead of starting at the trial court level. However, the court voted 6-1 to deny the petition.

Writing in dissent as the sole vote for accepting the petition, Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley stated: “Before deciding whether to grant or deny the petition in this matter, I would order the parties to submit responses regarding the effect of the court’s decision in Service Employees International Union, Local 1 v. Vos, 2020 WI 67, 393 Wis. 2d 38, 946 N.W.2d 45.”