OMG - Zien/Suder trying to hamstring AG

[sybylla]

Their joint PDF press release:
http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/Oct05/Oct6/1006zienfairness.pdf
emphasis mine

October 6, 2005
Contact: Sen. Dave Zien, [phone]
Rep. Scott Suder, [phone]
Zien/Suder Announce Fairness in Litigation Act

MADISON -- Sen. Dave Zien (R-Wheaton) and Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) are introducing legislation today to curb unfair litigation brought by government against businesses and citizens. The Fairness in Litigation Act will protect private citizens against frivolous and unfair lawsuits brought forth by an Attorney General (AG).

Zien and Suder said the legislation is needed to shield Wisconsin citizens and businesses against unfair lawsuits, which ultimately cost millions of dollars in economic development each year. Organizations representing farmers, businesses, cranberry growers, realtors, developers, utilities, and others showed the lawmakers case after case where the current AG has overstepped her bounds and abused her power as an elected official.

“The Attorney General is elected to be the chief law enforcement officer, but has also become a self-annointed lawmaker,” said Zien. “She has abused the power that voters placed in her through vigilante tactics aimed at private citizens and businesses.”

The Zien/Suder legislation will prevent the Attorney General from: bringing nuisance lawsuits against citizens and businesses that are not violating the law, piling on private party lawsuits without the Governor or Legislature’s approval, or joining in a lawsuit commenced by another state without the Governor’s order.

Suder said the AG’s zealous tactics are well known by businesses, farmers and private citizens in Wisconsin.

“In documented case after case the Attorney General has overstepped her bounds and harassed Wisconsin citizens,” said Suder. “In one case the Attorney General went after a familyowned farm and the Supreme Court threw out her case, saying it was completely without merit –
this abuse has to stop.”

Zien and Suder said they’ve been researching the issue over the past year, meeting with groups and private citizens, and working to draft legislation to curb legal abuses by the AG, while still allowing the Department of Justice to do its job and go after real criminals.

“We recognize the importance that this elected position has in being the chief law enforcement officer in this state,” says Zien. “But when that law enforcement officer goes after the very people they are elected to protect, it’s time to put some checks and balances in place.”

Continued Suder: “Our legislation provides that balance, and recognizes the separation of powers that must exist between the branches of government. Legislators are elected to be law makers. The AG is elected to be the law enforcer. Our legislation provides the clarity between the two that is currently lacking.”

Zien and Suder said hearings will be held on the legislation yet this fall.
###

These people have really jumped the shark this time. Do they think attacking an effective and generally popular AG (at least with my O'Reilly watching mom) is a good idea in an election year?

All the AG (and their political opponents) have to do is start listing the successful litigation this kind of law would have prevented.

Party of law an order my a@@!

[ewagner]

1. What are they talking about?

Maybe we should be looking at the companies they are using as examples of "frivolous lawsuits" and see how much money they have given to Zein and Suder and other Republicans.

[sybylla]

2. No doubt every one would be a member of WMC

who, in truth, controls the strings of our puke puppet legislature.

[ewagner]

3. Here's one "example"

snip:

“The Attorney General and out-of-state landowners filed a nuisance suit against a cranberry grower in Sawyer County, even though the cranberry grower has not been cited for any environmental violations by any regulatory agency,” said Zimmerman.



“The Attorney General’s decision to file this nuisance suit against the cranberry grower has greatly alarmed the agricultural community in Wisconsin. Farmers and other businesses that follow the law should not be hit with nuisance lawsuits,” Zimmerman said.

Here's the link:

http://www.wfbf.com/archivej/htmArchive/showPage.aspx?page=15177.htm&id=15177


Note that the Farm Bureau letter and the press release from Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb (sic) keep referring to nuisance suits thereby framing the issue....Peg needs to get on this right away.

[ewagner]

4. Here's the lawsuit

that the yo-yos are talking about:

http://www.midwestadvocates.org/media/coverage/08-16-04%20Growers%20A%20Right%20To%20Pollute.htm

four para snip explains it all:

It is her responsibility to uphold the Wisconsin Constitution and to hold accountable those who pollute our public waters with impunity. By suing a cranberry grower who has continually contaminated a northern Wisconsin lake, she is doing just that.

Her detractors incorrectly assume that if a law or DNR regulation doesn't bar an activity, then it must be perfectly legal --even if the activity impairs the public's rights to use and enjoy state lakes, rivers and streams.

This is not the case. Our constitutionally-grounded Public Trust Doctrine has been developed through what is known as the "common law" of court decisions. This rich body of law is interpreted side by side with statutes and regulations, but isn't supplanted by them. The Public Trust Doctrine is simple: Wisconsin holds its waters in trust for the public, and the rights of the public are paramount to any private use of state waters.

The cranberry industry has for years received preferential treatment through a law that generally exempts it from many DNR regulations. Now this industry also claims it is protected against common law claims under the Right to Farm Law. But if a grower creates a public nuisance by harming public trust waters, the attorney general has a duty to protect the public interest by going to court to right the wrong. The highest law of our state is the state constitution -- and where the Public Trust Doctrine is concerned, both the Right to Farm Law and the Cranberry Law must yield to it.

This was not frivolous.....

[sybylla]

5. Good for Peg

The right to farm does not confer the right to polute.

A farmer down the road from me, with a huge family-run dairy farm, was fined big money last year for letting manure run unintentionally into a tributary to the Yellow River that runs through his farm. Should be no different for cranberry growers.

They own the land, not the lakes and streams.

IMO, its up to the courts to decide what is frivolous, not legislators. The fact that they try to meddle in this is definitely a violation of the separation powers and I wish the high courts would start striking down these bullshit limitations on their jurisdiction.

[ewagner]

6. Here's N'land cranberries

political contributions...or the CEO's anyway...inconclusive but I'll keep looking

http://www.opensecrets.org/wdc/contribdetail.asp?name=Swendrowski%2C+John