State ex rel. Two Unnamed Petitioners v. Peterson, 071615 WISC, 2014AP2507-W
| Opinion Judge | MICHAEL J. GABLEMAN, J. |
| Party Name | State of Wisconsin ex rel. Two Unnamed Petitioners, Petitioner, v. The Honorable Gregory A. Peterson, John Doe Judge and Francis D. Schmitz, Special Prosecutor, Respondents. State of Wisconsin ex rel. Francis D. Schmitz, Petitioner, v. Honorable Gregory A. Peterson, John Doe Judge, Respondent, Eight Unnamed Movants, Interested Party. In the Matter |
| Attorney | For the Petitioners (case nos. 2013AP2504-W through 2013AP2508-W and 2014AP296-OA) and Interested Parties (case nos. 2014AP417-W through 2014AP421-W) there were briefs by Attorney Dean A. Strang, StrangBradley, LLC, Madison; Attorney Steven M. Biskupic and Attorney Michelle L. Jacobs, Biskupic & ... |
| Judge Panel | PROSSER, J., ROGGENSACK, C.J. (joining Sections IV and V), ZIEGLER, J. (joining Section IV) and GABLEMAN, J. Justices (joining Section IV) concur (Opinion filed). ZIEGLER, J. concurs (Opinion filed). Concur/Dissent: ABRAHAMSON, J. concurs and dissents (Opinion filed). CROOKS, J. concurs and disse... |
| Case Date | July 16, 2015 |
| Court | Wisconsin Supreme Court |
PETITION FOR SUPERVISORY WRIT BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT, APPEAL AND BYPASS TO THE SUPREME COURT FROM CIRCUIT COURT ORDER.
Circuit Court Milwaukee County Iowa, Dodge, Dane and Columbia Gregory A. Peterson, (Reserve) Judge, L.C. No. 2013JD11 & 2013JD9 & 2013JD6 & 2013JD1 & 2012JD23
ORIGINAL ACTION for declaratory judgment. Declaration of rights; relief granted; John Doe investigation ordered closed.
PETITION for supervisory writ and appeal from an order of a John Doe Judge for Milwaukee County, Iowa County, Dodge County, Dane County, and Columbia County, Gregory A. Peterson, Reserve Judge. Petition for supervisory writ denied and order affirmed.
PETITION for supervisory writ and review of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Petition for supervisory writ denied and decision affirmed.
¶1 These cases arise from a John Doe proceeding originally initiated in Milwaukee County, and subsequently expanded to four additional counties, Iowa County, Dodge County, Dane County, and Columbia County. Though not consolidated, these proceedings have been overseen by a single John Doe judge and organized by a single special prosecutor (Francis Schmitz). For the sake of clarity, we will refer to all five proceedings as a single "John Doe investigation." The investigation has been ongoing for several years and has been the subject of much litigation.1
¶2 According to the special prosecutor, the purpose of the John Doe investigation is to root out allegedly illegal campaign coordination between certain issue advocacy groups and a candidate for elective office. To further the investigation, the special prosecutor sought, and received, wide-ranging subpoenas and search warrants for 29 organizations and individuals, seeking millions of documents that had been created over a period of several years. Various targets (collectively "the Unnamed Movants") moved the John Doe judge to quash the subpoenas and search warrants and to return any property seized by the special prosecutor. The John Doe judge, the Hon. Gregory A. Peterson, presiding, granted the motions to quash and ordered the return of all property seized. Reserve Judge Peterson stayed the order, however, and also halted the John Doe investigation pending our resolution of the cases before us.
¶3 The first case we address is an original action brought by Unnamed Movants Nos. 6 and 7, State ex rel. Two Unnamed Petitioners v. Peterson ("Two Unnamed Petitioners"). Unnamed Movants Nos. 6 and 7 seek a declaration of rights that the special prosecutor's theory of the case is invalid under Wisconsin law. Specifically, they ask that we declare that coordinated issue advocacy of the kind alleged by the special prosecutor is not regulated under Wis.Stat. Ch. 11 (2011-12), 2Wisconsin's campaign finance law.
¶4 The second case we review is a petition brought by the special prosecutor for a supervisory writ and an appeal of Reserve Judge Peterson's decision and order quashing the subpoenas and search warrants, State ex rel. Schmitz v. Peterson ("Schmitz v. Peterson"). The special prosecutor argues that Reserve Judge Peterson improperly quashed the subpoenas and search warrants because the records in the John Doe investigation establish a reasonable belief that the Unnamed Movants violated Wisconsin's campaign finance law. This case is before us on the Unnamed Movants' petitions to bypass the court of appeals pursuant to Wis.Stat. § 809.60 (2013-14).
¶5 The third case we address is a petition for a supervisory writ and a review of a decision of the court of appeals, State ex rel. Three Unnamed Petitioners v. Peterson ("Three Unnamed Petitioners"). This petition for supervisory writ was brought by Unnamed Movants Nos. 2, 6, and 7, and broadly challenges whether the John Doe investigation can be initiated in five separate counties under a single John Doe judge, and whether the special prosecutor was properly appointed. The court of appeals denied the supervisory writ and Unnamed Movants Nos. 2, 6, and 7 appealed that decision to this court.
¶6 Our order granting and consolidating3 each of these cases identified 14 issues presented by the complex nature of the cases. These issues related to the procedural nature of the John Doe investigation, as well as whether the conduct alleged by the special prosecutor is actually a violation of Ch. 11. Subsequent briefing by the parties has revealed that the cases can be resolved on much narrower grounds than those that were originally submitted, and we have written this opinion accordingly.
¶7 We can resolve the original action, Two Unnamed Petitioners, by first examining whether the statutory definitions of "committee, " "contributions, " "disbursements, " and "political purposes" in Wis.Stat. §§ 11.01(4), (6), (7), and (16) are limited to express advocacy4 or whether they encompass the conduct of coordination between a candidate or a campaign committee and an independent organization that...
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