On February 7, 2008, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the New Berlin School Board (and seven other “municipalities”) had no right to intervene in a lawsuit brought by some state employees seeking domestic partner health insurance for their partners from their state employers.
The School Board’s other unsuccessful attempts to join that domestic partner lawsuit were discussed in my 11/3/06 blog entry titled “School Board Strikes Out Once, Twice…."
The Circuit Court, the Court of Appeals-- and now the Wisconsin Supreme Court --have rejected the arguments of the eight “municipalities” (New Berlin School Board, Town of Caledonia, Town of Cottage Grove, City of Green Bay, Village of Hobart, Village of Oostburg, City of Watertown, and Raymond School District) and refused to allow them to intervene in the case.
Some ACLU comments-----
“The court said: ‘The municipalities have shown no special, personal, or unique interest in the present case. Were the municipalities granted a right to intervene upon such grounds, virtually any declaratory action for constitutional review of a statute would present a case in which at least some persons or entities may intervene as a right…’ "
“We are relieved that the court recognized the judicial system would grind to a halt if everyone who was concerned about an issue had a right to get involved as a party.”
“….As has long been clear, the municipalities can explain their views of the legal issues by filing a brief with the court.”
Click on this link for more information.
Are you wondering how the New Berlin School Board got mixed up in this? At the April 25, 2005 School Board Meeting, the Board was asked by Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin) and attorney Michael Dean of the First Freedoms Foundation to intervene in the state workers’ domestic partner lawsuit---- a brazen use of public funds and public entities to further their agendas! Although Dean said he’d represent the School Board without charge for his services, he indicated the District (in other words, us taxpayers) would have to pay the other costs, such as filing fees, paperwork, deposition and court costs.
At that meeting, School Board Member Marc Duff urged his Board colleagues not to act hastily. He argued that the Board should consult first with District legal counsel and discuss the issue before making a decision regarding the lawsuit.
But Duff’s sensible words fell on deaf ears. Minutes later, the School Board under the leadership of then- President Jennifer Eitel (former Holy Apostles School Board President) and Vice-President Matt Weiss (Click on my 3/3/07 and 4/23/07 blog entries for information re: his activism/involvement in a pro-voucher movement & WCVP scandal) voted 5-2 to retain activist attorney Dean and to plunge into the domestic partner lawsuit (by seeking to intervene as defendant).
The activists on the School Board were willing and eager to connect with other activists outside the community and drag the entire District into this mess to further their own political goals. The School Board’s unnecessary hasty action and failure to consult with the District’s own legal counsel to obtain a more objective legal opinion was not “conservative”--it was irresponsible.
