MADISON, Wis. (WRN) — A unanimous decision released Tuesday by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in favor of the attorney general.
The court’s conservatives joined the liberal majority in ruling on a challenge to a portion of a lame-duck law passed by the Republican controlled Legislature in 2018 – when Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and Governor Tony Evers first took office.
The majority opinion written by Justice Brian Hagedorn holds that the Legislature “generally cannot give itself the power to control litigation” that state law empowers the Wisconsin Department of Justice to undertake.
The justices held that the AG should have authority over resolving lawsuits that have to do with “core executive powers,” and that there’s no constitutional justification for requiring the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee to sign-off on settlement agreements in such cases.
