Baldus et al v. Brennan et al

Filing 262

ORDER by Circuit Judge Diane P. Wood, District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller, and District Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr., on 10/5/12 that Plaintiffs and their representatives cooperate fully with Schiff Hardin and its representatives in the preparation of the i nvestigative report; upon completion, Schiff Hardin shall disclose its report to counsel for the parties and at the same time file a copy with the court; and, pending receipt and consideration of the report, the Court will withhold taking any further action on Plaintiffs' pending motion for remedial discovery. (cc: all counsel)(nm)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
ALVIN BALDUS, CARLENE BECHEN, ELVIRA
BUMPUS, RONALD BIENDSEIL, LESLIE W DAVIS,
III, BRETT ECKSTEIN, GLORIA ROGERS, RICHARD
KRESBACH, ROCHELLE MOORE, AMY RISSEEUW,
JUDY ROBSON, JEANNE SANCHEZ-BELL,
CECELIA SCHLIEPP, TRAVIS THYSSEN, CINDY
BARBERA, RON BOONE, VERA BOONE,
EVANJELINA CLEERMAN, SHEILA COCHRAN,
MAXINE HOUGH, CLARENCE JOHNSON,
RICHARD LANGE, and GLADYS MANZANET

Case No. 11-CV-562
JPS-DPW-RMD

Plaintiffs,
TAMMY BALDWIN, GWENDOLYNNE MOORE and
RONALD KIND,
Intervenor-Plaintiffs,
v.
Members of the Wisconsin Government
Accountability Board, each only in his official
capacity: MICHAEL BRENNAN, DAVID
DEININGER, GERALD NICHOL, THOMAS CANE,
THOMAS BARLAND, and TIMOTHY VOCKE, and
KEVIN KENNEDY, Director and General Counsel for
the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board,
Defendants,
F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., THOMAS E.
PETRI, PAUL D. RYAN, JR., REID J. RIBBLE, and
SEAN P. DUFFY,
Intervenor-Defendants.
VOCES DE LA FRONTERA, INC., RAMIRO VARA,
OLGA VARA, JOSE PEREZ, and ERICA RAMIREZ,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Members of the Wisconsin Government
Accountability Board, each only in his official
capacity: MICHAEL BRENNAN, DAVID
DEININGER, GERALD NICHOL, THOMAS CANE,
THOMAS BARLAND, and TIMOTHY VOCKE, and
KEVIN KENNEDY, Director and General Counsel for
the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board,
Defendants.

Case No. 11-CV-1011
JPS-DPW-RMD

ORDER

October 5, 2012
Before WOOD, Circuit Judge, DOW, District Judge, and STADTMUELLER,
District Judge
On August 23, 2012, Plaintiffs filed a motion seeking remedial
discovery, including the appointment of a forensic computer expert, arguing
that the Wisconsin Legislature and its lawyers failed to turn over a number
of relevant documents during pretrial discovery. (Docket #252). Thereafter,
the Legislature’s law firm, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, responded to that
motion, informing the Court that it had retained Schiff Hardin LLP, as
outside counsel who in turn engaged a third party forensic expert to conduct
an investigation to determine the extent of any non-disclosure, all without
cost to Plaintiffs. (Docket #258). However, in their reply, Plaintiffs have
renewed their request for the appointment of an independent investigator to
conduct a separate investigation. (Docket #259).
With the benefit of the parties’ submissions, the Court finds that the
appointment of an independent investigator at this juncture would be
premature.

The

Court

certainly

sympathizes

with

Plaintiffs’

position—indeed, throughout the discovery process, the Legislature and its
attorneys have been less than forthright, understandably making Plaintiffs
wary of accepting yet another representation from them. Nonetheless, the
presence of outside counsel suggests that the Legislature may have turned
over a new leaf and are now committed to cooperation and full disclosure.
Thus, the Court finds it prudent to await Schiff Hardin’s report before
addressing any further need for a court-appointed investigator.
After receiving that report, the Court will make a further assessment
as to whether appointing an investigator would be in the interests of justice
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and therefore beneficial to the outcome of this dispute. In the meantime, the
Court will direct Plaintiffs to cooperate fully with Schiff Hardin in its
ongoing inquiry to ensure that its report appropriately addresses Plaintiffs’
expressed concerns.
Accordingly,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiffs and their representatives cooperate
fully with Schiff Hardin and its representatives in the preparation of the
investigative report; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, upon completion, Schiff Hardin
shall disclose its report to counsel for the parties and at the same time file a
copy with the court. In the meantime, pending receipt and consideration of
the report, the Court will withhold taking any further action on Plaintiffs’
pending motion for remedial discovery.

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