Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Walker denies Tony Evers his own Legal Representation in Challenge to Superintendent Powers!!!

Candidate for governor and State Superintendent Tony Evers can't get legal representation advocating on his behalf in a lawsuit challenging his elected office's powers, thanks to Scott Walker and AG Brad Schimel. 

Under the Iron Fist of One Party Scott Walker Control:
JSThe state’s top two Republicans won’t let Wisconsin’s Democratic schools chief Tony Evers have his own attorney in a lawsuit over his powers. 
You get that? And this is something "small government" left behind Republicans voters thinks is "small government?"

With friends like these...wait, stuff like this can't happen, right?
Attorney General Brad Schimel told the state Supreme Court his office would represent schools Superintendent Tony Evers, even though Schimel agrees with those suing Evers. The development came soon after Gov. Scott Walker blocked Evers from hiring an outside attorney. Evers then tried to use the chief legal counsel in his Department of Public Instruction, but Schimel told the state’s high court he was pushing that attorney aside. 

In an interview, Evers said Walker and Schimel were engaging in petty politics and trying to prevent him from getting his say in court. “It’s unprecedented I would think that a constitutional officer would not be able to have his or her own interests represented in a court of law. It’s like a kangaroo court without a court.” Evers said he would file a request soon asking the state Supreme Court to let him use an attorney of his choosing. He'll also be asking the court to throw the case out, he said. 
Oh, but it gets even more dictatorially bizarre: 
Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said by email that the attorney general has the power to decide what arguments to make that are best for the state — and not what's best for Evers. "It’s not politics, it’s the law."
The lawsuit mill decided to crank out the same lawsuit as before, now that the court has a new Justice:
The lawsuit, brought by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, centers on the powers of Evers ... last year ruled Evers had more power and independence than other the heads of other state agencies. Evers' department issued rules this fall without first going to the Department of Administration. That's because a divided state Supreme Court ruled last year that Evers did not have to abide by a similar law governing administrative rules because he is an independently elected official under the state constitution.

The group argues the Department of Public Instruction is ignoring a new law which took effect in September, that says state agencies must run the scope of state rules past Walker's Department of Administration before putting them into place.
Again, this is raw authoritarian behavior that hell, I can't believe is happening: 
On Wednesday, Solicitor General Misha Tseytlin notified the Supreme Court that he — not Nilsestuen — would represent Evers. Tseytlin is a top aide to Schimel. A spokesman for Schimel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rick Esenberg, the executive director of WILL, said he would leave it to others to weigh in on how the attorney general handles cases.

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