League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Tony Evers
League of Women Voters of Wisconsin v. Tony Evers
Opinion of the Court
*213*518¶1 We accepted the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin's
¶2 We hold that extraordinary sessions do not violate the Wisconsin Constitution because the text of our constitution directs the Legislature to meet at times as "provided by law," and
¶3 The biennial session period for the 2017 Legislature began on Tuesday, January 3, 2017 and ended at noon on Monday, January 7, 2019. The Legislature adopted its work schedule in 2017 Senate Joint Resolution 1, which was "[r]esolved by the senate, the assembly concurring." (Hereinafter "JR1".)
¶4 JR1 contains two "Sections." "Section 1" has six subsections:
• Subsection (1) lists the dates of the 2017-2018 session-January 3, 2017 to January 7, 2019.
• Subsection (2) extends the statutorily prescribed budget deadline.
• Subsection (3) sets forth "Scheduled floorperiods and committee work periods."
• Subsection (4) sets the timeframe for the "Interim period of committee work."
*521• Subsection (5) addresses "Special and Extraordinary Sessions."
• Subsection (6) specifies the date for the "End of Term" of the 2017 legislature.
¶5 Subsection (3) of Section 1 contains 24 paragraphs labeled (a) through (x). Paragraph (3)(a) addresses "Unreserved days" and provides:
Unless reserved under this subsection as a day to conduct an organizational meeting or to be part of a scheduled floorperiod of the legislature, every day of the biennial session period is designated as a day for committee activity and is available to extend a scheduled floorperiod, convene an extraordinary session, or take senate action on appointments as permitted by joint rule 81.
(Emphasis added.) Paragraphs (3)(b)-(x) set specific dates for "Inauguration," "Floorperiod[s]," "Bills to governor," "Nonbudget bills to governor," "Budget bill to governor," "Last general-business floorperiod," "Limited-business floorperiod," and "Veto review floorperiod."
¶6 Subsection (5) of Section 1, titled "Special and Extraordinary Sessions" comprises three paragraphs. Paragraph (5)(a) provides:
Adjournment. Except for consideration of executive vetoes or partial vetoes, a motion adopted in each house to adjourn a special or extraordinary session pursuant to this joint resolution shall constitute final adjournment of the special or extraordinary session.
Paragraph (5)(b) provides:
Bills to governor. No later than 4:30 p.m. on the first Thursday occurring 2 full weeks after the day a bill is *522passed by both houses in identical form after May 9, 2018, in special or extraordinary session, the chief clerk of the house in which it originated shall submit it to the governor for executive action thereon.
Paragraph (5)(c) provides:
Veto review. A special or extraordinary session shall reconvene upon a call of a majority of the members of the joint committee on legislative organization solely for the consideration of executive vetoes or partial vetoes if an enrolled bill passed by both houses during the special or extraordinary session was vetoed or partially vetoed.
¶7 The last subsection of Section 1 sets the "end of term" and provides:
The biennial term of the 2017 legislature ends on Monday, January 7, 2019. Pursuant to section 13.02(1) of the statutes, the inauguration of the members of the 2019 legislature will be on Monday, January 7, 2019.
*215¶8 Finally, Section 2 of JR1 provides notice of the first meeting date for the 2019 session organization:
Notice is hereby given that the biennial session of the 2019 legislature will hold its first meeting, pursuant to section 13.02(1) of the statutes, on Monday, January 7, 2019, and that the meeting will begin at 2 p.m.
¶9 In December 2018, acting pursuant to JR1, Section 1, para. (3)(a), the Legislature convened an extraordinary session and passed three Acts that were subsequently signed into law by Governor Scott Walker: (1) 2017 Wisconsin Act 368, (2) 2017 Wisconsin Act 369, and (3) 2017 Wisconsin Act 370. During *523the same extraordinary session, the Senate also confirmed 82 appointees nominated by Governor Walker.
¶10 On January 10, 2019, the League filed a summons and complaint seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief. The League asked the Dane County Circuit Court to declare the three Acts unconstitutional and unenforceable because, the League alleged, each was passed in a constitutionally invalid session. Similarly, the League contended in its Complaint that confirmation of the 82 nominees during the extraordinary session was unconstitutional and unenforceable. The Complaint sought an injunction "barring any State official from attempting to apply, implement, or enforce any actions taken by the Legislature at the December 2018 Extraordinary Session[.]" The case was assigned to Branch 15, the Hon. Stephen E. Ehlke presiding.
¶11 Five days later, the League filed an Amended Complaint and a motion for a temporary injunction. Both Complaints named as Defendants seven officers of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Governor Tony Evers. Two weeks later, the Legislature filed a motion to intervene. On the same day, the League filed a request for substitution of Judge Ehlke, which was granted, and the case was reassigned to the Hon. Richard G. Niess. Judge Niess granted the Legislature's motion to intervene.
*524¶12 The circuit court held a hearing on all of the pending motions. Before the circuit court ruled on the Elections Commission Defendants' dismissal motion, the parties stipulated to their dismissal. In March 2019, the circuit court issued an order denying the Legislature's motion to dismiss, granting the temporary injunction, and denying the Legislature's motion to stay the injunction. The Legislature appealed to the court of appeals and after a substantial number of filings and procedural matters not relevant here, the League filed a petition with this court requesting to bypass the court of appeals and asking "for expedited Supreme Court review" because uncertainty will loom until this court provides the "final resolution."
*216II. ANALYSIS
A. Standard of Review
¶13 The dispositive issue presented is whether the Legislature convened its December 2018 extraordinary session in accordance with the Wisconsin Constitution. The answer to that question requires interpretation of constitutional and statutory provisions, both of which involve questions of law we review de novo. See Milwaukee Journal Sentinel v. DOA,
*525B. Relevant Constitutional and Statutory Provisions
¶14 There are two constitutional provisions relevant to the issue in this case. Wisconsin Constitution Article IV, Section 11 provides:
Meeting of legislature. SECTION 11. [As amended Nov. 1881 and April 1968] The legislature shall meet at the seat of government at such time as shall be provided by law, unless convened by the governor in special session, and when so convened no business shall be transacted except as shall be necessary to accomplish the special purposes for which it was convened.
(Emphasis added.) Wisconsin Constitution, Article IV, Section 8 says:
Rules; contempts; expulsion. SECTION 8. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings, punish for contempt and disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected, expel a member; but no member shall be expelled a second time for the same cause.
(Emphasis added.)
¶15 The pertinent statute,
Regular sessions. The legislature shall meet annually.
(1) The legislature shall convene in the capitol on the first Monday of January in each odd-numbered year, at 2 p.m., to take the oath of office, select officers, and do all other things necessary to organize itself for the conduct of its business, but if the first Monday of January falls on January 1 or 2, the actions here required shall be taken on January 3.
*526(2) The regular session of the legislature shall commence at 2 p.m. on the first Tuesday after the 8th day of January in each year unless otherwise provided under sub. (3).
(3) Early in each biennial session period, the joint committee on legislative organization shall meet and develop a work schedule for the legislative session, which shall include at least one meeting in January of each year, to be submitted to the legislature as a joint resolution.
(4) Any measures introduced in the regular annual session of the odd-numbered year which do not receive final action shall carry over to the regular annual session held in the even-numbered year.
(Emphasis added.)
C. Constitutional and Statutory Interpretation
¶16 Article IV, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution describes when the Legislature meets: "The legislature shall meet at the seat of government at such time as shall be provided by law, unless convened by the governor in special session[.]" The text of this constitutional provision is plain. No one disputes that this sentence authorizes the Legislature to meet at the State Capitol "at such time as shall be provided by law."
¶17 Accordingly, the Wisconsin Constitution authorizes the Legislature to lawfully meet when a statute so provides. Wisconsin Statute § 13.02 is the sole statute addressing when the Legislature can meet. Subsection (1) sets the date, time, and location for the Legislature to convene to take oaths, select officers, and organize. Subsection (2) sets the date and time for the regular session to begin unless the Legislature changes them under sub. (3). Subsection (3) directs that early in the "biennial session" "the joint committee on legislative organization shall meet and develop a work schedule for the legislative session [.]" (Emphasis added.) Subsection (4) permits bills in the first year to carry over to the second year of the biennial session.
¶18 The parties delve deep into past practices of the Legislature, as well as a 1968 constitutional amendment.
*528¶19 Our analysis therefore turns to the interpretation of
¶20 Wisconsin Stat. § 13.02(3) imposes only two statutory limitations on that committee: the work schedule "shall include at least one meeting in January of each year" and must "be submitted to the legislature as a joint resolution." It is uncontroverted that the committee developed a work schedule that included at least one meeting each January of the biennial session period, and that the work schedule was submitted to the Legislature as a joint resolution and was enrolled as JR1.
¶21 The pivotal text within
¶22 The League and the Governor recognize
¶23 When asked during oral argument why the nonappearance of "floorperiods" in
¶24 The League alternatively suggests that "floorperiods" are fine because they are part of the "regular session." While
*219¶25 The League also argues that the Legislature terminated its 2017-18 session when it concluded its "last general-business floorperiod, which was adjourned *531on March 22, 2018." It contends the conclusion of that floorperiod constituted a sine die adjournment,
¶26 The 2017-18 Legislature's session began in January 2017, in accordance with the dates required by
¶27 Neither the record nor JR1 supports a sine die adjournment on March 22, 2018. When the Legislature adjourned on March 22nd, it did so pursuant to JR1, which provides the 2017-18 session ends on January 7, 2019. There is no indication the Legislature altered that date. Further, JR1 established a "limited-business floorperiod" to commence on April 17, 2018, and a "veto review floorperiod" to commence on May 8, 2018. Both of these floorperiods post-date March 22, 2018, directly contradicting the League's notion of a sine die adjournment in March. If the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 22nd, these floorperiods and the additional parts of JR1, Section 1, paragraphs (3)(t)-(x) would be superfluous, as would JR1, Section 1, sub (6), which specifically set the "end of term" as January 7, 2019. Nothing supports the League's position that the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 22, 2018.
¶28 The Wisconsin Constitution mandates that the Legislature meet "at such time as shall be provided by law." The Legislature did so. Wisconsin Stat. § 13.02(3) confers on the Legislature, through its joint committee on legislative organization, the right to construct its own work schedule, which necessarily includes setting times when the Legislature may meet. In addition to being authorized by Article IV, Section 11, this statutory provision is expressly authorized under Article IV, Section 8 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which says: "Each house may determine *220the rules of its own proceedings." The Legislature's "rules of its own proceedings" include "those rules having 'to *533do with the process the legislature uses to propose or pass legislation[.]' " Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
D. Separation of Powers
¶29 The League asks this court to invalidate laws enacted by the Legislature based solely on the procedures employed to pass them. This controversy implicates the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches of government and how the Legislature may administer those powers within its domain. We are attentive to the constitutional limits on the judicial power to intercede in legislative affairs, and duty-bound to respect them.
¶30 "[O]ne of the fundamental principles of the American constitutional system is that governmental powers are divided among the three departments of government[.]" Goodland v. Zimmerman,
¶31 By vesting certain powers exclusively within each of the three co-equal branches of government, the drafters of the Wisconsin Constitution recognized the importance of dispersing governmental power in order to protect individual liberty and avoid tyranny. See id., ¶¶4-9, 11. Two years ago, this court exhaustively examined the separation of powers principles underlying the United States Constitution, which "inform our understanding of the separation of powers under the Wisconsin Constitution." Id., ¶11. "As Madison explained when advocating for the Constitution's adoption, neither the legislature nor the executive nor the judiciary 'ought to possess, directly or indirectly, an overruling influence over the others in the administration of their respective powers.' " Id., ¶4 (quoting Federalist No. 48, at 305 (James Madison) (Clinton Rossiter ed., 1961)).
¶32 Accordingly, "the Constitution gives 'to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others,' therefore guaranteeing 'security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department.' "
*535Gabler,
¶33 "Each branch has exclusive core constitutional powers into which other branches may not intrude." State v. Horn,
*536¶34 "[C]ore zones of authority are to be 'jealously guarded' by each branch of government." Barland v. Eau Claire Cty.,
E. The Legislative Power
¶35 "The people bestowed much power on the legislature, comprised of their representatives whom the people elect to make the laws." Gabler,
¶36 The judiciary may not interfere with the Legislature's execution of *222its constitutional duties. "[T]his court will not, under separation of powers concepts and affording the comity and respect due a co-equal branch of state government, interfere with the conduct of legislative affairs." State ex rel. La Follette v. Stitt,
¶37 How the Legislature meets, when it meets, and what descriptive titles the Legislature assigns to those meetings or their operating procedures constitute parts of the legislative process with which the judicial branch "has no jurisdiction or right" to interfere. State ex rel. Ozanne v. Fitzgerald,
The judicial department has no jurisdiction or right to interfere with the legislative process. That is something committed by the constitution entirely to the legislature itself. It makes its own rules, prescribes its own procedure, subject only to the provisions of the constitution.
Goodland,
¶38 With respect to legislative procedures, the judicial role consists of reviewing whether "a law was actually passed by the respective houses in accordance with constitutional requirements." La Follette,
¶39 While we have examined the work schedule the Legislature adopted in JR1 to govern its proceedings, generally "this court will not determine whether internal operating rules or procedural statutes have been complied with by the legislature in the course of its enactments." La Follette,
¶40 Declining to "inquire into whether the legislature has complied with legislatively prescribed formalities in enacting a statute" springs from the principles of "separation of power and comity."
¶41 The Legislature remains accountable to the people of Wisconsin for any failure to follow its self-imposed statutory or procedural rules. The judiciary serves as a check on the Legislature's actions only to the extent necessary to ensure the people's elected lawmakers comply with our constitution in every respect. Provided the Legislature acts in accordance with its mandates, the constitution confers no power on the judiciary to enjoin or invalidate laws as a consequence for deficiencies in the implementation of internally-imposed legislative procedures.
III. CONCLUSION
¶42 The December 2018 extraordinary session of the Wisconsin Legislature was constitutional. The text of Article IV, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution directs the Legislature to meet at a time provided by law. Wisconsin Stat. § 13.02(3) constitutes the law authorizing the Legislature to set its own biennial work schedule. The extraordinary session comports with the constitution because it occurred as provided by law. The terminology the Legislature chooses to accomplish the legislative process is squarely the prerogative of the Legislature. The Wisconsin Constitution itself affords the Legislature absolute discretion to determine the rules of its own proceedings. Wis. Const. art. IV, § 8. Recognizing the Legislature's rules and procedures reside solely within the legislative domain, we review only whether the Legislature acted in accordance *541with the Wisconsin Constitution. Having so concluded, this court's jurisdiction ends.
By the Court. -Order of the circuit court is vacated and the cause is remanded for dismissal.
DALLET, J. dissents, joined by ABRAHAMSON, J., and A.W. BRADLEY, J. (opinion filed).
The petition was filed by the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Inc., Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Guillermo Aceves, Michael J. Cain, John S. Greene and Michael Doyle, in his official capacity as Clerk of Green County. For ease of reference, we refer to all petitioners collectively as the "League."
The three Acts passed during the December 2018 extraordinary session and subsequently signed by the Governor were 2017 Wisconsin Act 368, 2017 Wisconsin Act 369, and 2017 Wisconsin Act 370.
All subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2017-18 version unless otherwise indicated.
The circuit court's March 21, 2019 order also denied the Legislature's motion to dismiss as well as the Legislature's motion for a stay of the temporary injunction. We need not specifically address the circuit court's action on either motion. Orders from the court of appeals and this court already addressed the circuit court's denial of the Legislature's motion for a stay. Our disposition vacates the circuit court's order in its entirety and requires dismissal of the League's declaratory judgment action. This decision upholds the constitutionality of their enactment in an extraordinary session.
The 82 nominees confirmed during the extraordinary session involved appointments to various "State authorities, boards, councils, and commissions."
For the remainder of the opinion, we refer to Judge Niess as "the circuit court."
This court recounted in detail the procedural history of this case in its order dated April 30, 2019, which addressed the Legislature's request for temporary relief pending our review.
Article IV, Section 11 authorizes two times when the Legislature may meet: (1) when "provided by law"; and (2) when the governor calls a "special session." It is undisputed that the Governor did not call a "special session"; therefore, we consider only whether the extraordinary session was "provided by law."
Before the 1968 constitutional amendment, Article IV, Section 11 read:
Meeting of legislature. The legislature shall meet at the seat of government at such time as shall be provided by law, once in two years, and no oftener, unless convened by the governor, in special session[.]
No one disputes that the Legislature complied with JR1.
The terminology chosen by the Legislature occasionally finds its way into individual statutes. See, e.g.,
"Sine die" means "without day"; adjournment sine die means: "The ending of a deliberative assembly's or court's session without setting a time to reconvene." Adjournment sine die, Black's Law Dictionary (10th ed. 2014); see also State ex rel. Sullivan v. Dammann,
The League also contends the extraordinary sessions were unlawful because no quorum of the Legislature called the extraordinary session. The Wisconsin Constitution requires a quorum "to do business." Wis. Const. art. IV, § 7 ("a majority of each shall constitute a quorum to do business"). Nothing in our constitution requires a "quorum" to call an extraordinary session. Rules pertaining to extraordinary sessions are developed by the Legislature as rules of its own proceedings, with which this court will not "intermeddle." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel v. DOA,
Dissenting Opinion
*224¶43 The Legislature unconstitutionally met in an "extraordinary session" in December 2018 and therefore 2017 Wisconsin Act 368, 2017 Wisconsin Act 369, and 2017 Wisconsin Act 370 are void ab initio and the Senate's confirmation of 82 gubernatorial appointments is invalid. In order to uphold the constitutionality of the December 2018 extraordinary session, the majority opinion subverts the plain text of Article IV, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution. Therefore, I dissent.
¶44 Constitutional interpretation is a question of law that we review de novo. Appling v. Walker,
¶45 Article IV, Section 11 of the Wisconsin Constitution constrains the Legislature from meeting except under two circumstances: (1) "at such time as shall be provided by law," and (2) "unless convened by the governor in special session." The majority agrees that "provided by law" means our statutes. Majority op., ¶16; see also State v. City of Oak Creek,
*543¶46 The December 2018 extraordinary session was not a date identified in JR1. March 22, 2018, was the final date the Legislature met pursuant to the work schedule
¶48 Under the majority opinion's reading of Article IV, Section 11, the words "at such time" and "unless" become superfluous because the Legislature could meet at any time. Yet, this court has recognized that "[t]o avoid surplusage, our analysis must also take into account and give meaning to the choice of the word[s]" in the constitutional provision. Appling,
¶49 Second, the majority opinion further subverts the constitutional text by redefining the clause "as shall be provided by law" to include a joint resolution passed by the Legislature.
¶50 In its analysis of the meaning of Article IV, Section 11, the majority opinion dismisses the importance of the intent of the drafters.
¶51 The majority dedicates pages of its opinion to a discussion of separation of powers and "[t]he [l]egislative [p]ower." See majority op., ¶¶29-41. It fails to account for the fact that "[j]udicial respect for its co-equal branch, the legislature, cannot amount to *549surrender of judicial power or abdication of judicial duty." Mayo v. Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Comp. Fund,
¶52 Wisconsin Constitution Article IV, Section 8 also cannot justify judicial non-interference here, as the majority opinion suggests. Article IV, Section 8 simply states: "[e]ach house may determine the rules of its own proceedings." Section 8 should not swallow Section 11 whole, as the majority opinion seems to suggest. According to the Legislature, *228Article IV, Section 8 gives it unlimited power to name and determine the procedures it follows, even if it acts in violation of Article IV, Section 11. The majority opinion claims that this court should not " 'intermeddle in purely internal legislative proceedings,' " citing to Milwaukee Journal Sentinel v. DOA,
¶53 The plain constitutional text of Article IV, Section 11 makes clear that with the exception of the Governor's ability to call special sessions, the Legislature has authority to "meet" only at "such time as shall be provided by law." Yet, the majority opinion ignores this clear language and instead concludes that a joint resolution work schedule is "law" that allows for a continuous, perpetual legislative session and the ability to convene at any time without notice. Because the Legislature unconstitutionally met in an "extraordinary session" in December 2018, the passage of 2017 Wisconsin Act 368, 2017 Wisconsin Act 369, and 2017 Wisconsin Act 370 is void ab initio and the Senate's confirmation of 82 gubernatorial appointments is invalid.
¶54 I respectfully dissent. I would vacate the court of appeals' stay and affirm the circuit court.
*551¶55 I am authorized to state that Justices SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON and ANN WALSH BRADLEY join this dissent.
For example, JR1 provides that "[a] floorperiod commences on Tuesday, January 16, 2018, at 10 a.m., and, unless adjourned earlier, ends on Thursday, January 25, 2018." JR1 prescribes times and dates for each event on the schedule. JR1 is also broken up into different sections, including "Floorperiod[s]," "last general-business floorperiod," "limited-business floor period," etc.
JR1 states that "[t]he last general-business floorperiod commences on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at 10 a.m., and, unless adjourned earlier, ends on Thursday, March 22, 2018."
To disprove the fact that the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 22, 2018, the majority opinion points to JR1's identification of a "limited-business floorperiod" to commence on April 17, 2018 and end no later than April 19, 2018 and a "veto review floorperiod" to commence on May 8, 2018 and end no later than May 9, 2018. Majority op., ¶27. The Legislature did not make this argument on appeal, probably because it never actually met on those dates. As counsel for Governor Evers noted to the circuit court at oral argument: "[t]here were some sort of contingent dates [in April and May 2018], but they never actually came back for those dates." Senate and Assembly calendars and journals affirm the fact that the last date that the Legislature met in regular session was March 22, 2018.
Further, while the majority opinion asserts that the Legislature adjourned sine die on January 7, 2019, there is no proof presented or journal entries that document that date as the date of adjournment. The "Session Calendar" available on the Legislature's website says that "March 23, 2018 to January 7, 2019" is designated "Interim, committee work." See https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/session_calendar/calendar; see also https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/session_calendar/floor_period_calendar.pdf.
Thompson and Dammann also clarify that it is the Legislature's lawmaking authority in session that terminates upon its sine die adjournment, not its other work functions, including committee meetings. See State ex rel. Thompson v. Gibson,
As support for its assertion that the Legislature adjourned sine die on March 22, 2018, the League underscores how legislators and observers alike understood that the regular session ended on that date. See, e.g., Rep. Hesselbein, Capitol Update (Apr. 13, 2018) ("The Wisconsin State Assembly wrapped up its floor period for the 2017-18 session on March 22."); Hamilton Consulting Group, LLC, Hamilton Political Tidbits-2018 Session Wrap Up (Mar. 23, 2018) ("[T]he legislature will not reconvene until January 2019."); Joe Forward, Legislative Wrap-Up, 10 Inside Track No. 6 (State Bar of Wisconsin), Apr. 4, 2018 ("The Wisconsin Legislature passed a barrage of bills [in March 2018] to close the 2017-18 session.").
The December 2018 meeting of the Legislature was convened upon the votes of five members of the Assembly, out of 99 members, and three members of the Senate, out of 33 members.
The majority opinion continuously references the term "biennial session"; however, Wisconsin has not had a biennial legislative session for nearly 50 years. Since 1971, the law has mandated that the Legislature "shall meet annually."
For example,
Since 1848, Article IV, Section 11 has been amended twice, but it is noteworthy that neither revision has transferred extraordinary convening authority to the Legislature.
In a novel argument that the majority raises on behalf of the Legislature, it asserts that like extraordinary sessions, floorperiods are not mentioned in the statutory text. Majority op., ¶22. However, as counsel for the League properly pointed out at oral argument, the work schedule, which governs the regular session, references floorperiods and the legislative journals inform us that floorperiods have long been considered part of the regular session. On the other hand, non-prescheduled floor sessions, like the extraordinary session here, were not part of the regular session.
The explicit reference to an extraordinary session in our statutes also shows that regular and extraordinary sessions are treated distinctly and are different in kind. This is more than just a dispute over taxonomy and the proper naming of sessions.
Although the majority opinion labels proof of the drafter's intent an unnecessary "historical review," majority op., ¶18, it relies upon the drafter's intent in another section of its opinion where it bolsters its argument. See majority op., ¶31.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel court cited to La Follette in favor of that proposition. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel v. DOA,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF WISCONSIN, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Inc., Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, Guillermo Aceves, Michael J. Cain, John S. Greene and Michael Doyle, in His Official Capacity as Clerk of Green County, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. Tony EVERS, in His Official Capacity as Governor of the State of Wisconsin, Defendant-Respondent, Wisconsin Legislature, Intervening Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 29 cases
- Status
- Published