Milwaukee City Atty Langley Blasted in Costly Case

A personal gripe I have of coverage of legal and judicial topics is the lack of research.

Few appear to read the briefs, focusing on judicial doctrine, without getting an editorial rebuke for writing “legalese,” thought to alienate a chunk of readership.

Gadfly Michael Horne has a well-researched piece out topical to Milwaukee’s race for City Attorney.

Horne digged out a case that blew up in City Atty Grant Langley's face, awarding a bank $400,000, paid by Milwaukee taxpayers.

Besides the $400,000 judgement, the judge, Ralph Adam Fine, denounced the City Atty's office under Langley's administration, for calling the bank’s legal position: "Hogwash," "Ludicrous," "Crazy," and "Obstructionistanarchist".

Writes Judge Fine:

The brief submitted to us by the City of Milwaukee is overly tendentious and lacks the civility that lawyers owe to both their adversaries and to the courts.

The following has no place in a brief before any court in this state: accusing an opposing party of seeking “political anarchy” (capitalization omitted), “anarchy,” “anarchy with a vengeance,” and “taxpayer anarchy”.

Horne’s analysis may prove influential in the Milwaukee City Atty’s race, an interesting election in this year of political “change”.

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Wisc Lawmaker: Feds Should Cough Up Money for Corrupt Prosecution by US Atty

Why should Wisconsin citizens get stuck with the $200,000 tab paid to an innocent Wisconsin woman who was the victim of a political prosecution by the United States Dept of Justice?

State Representative Pedro Colon (D-Milwaukee) says the federal government should foot the bill, not Wisconsin taxpayers.

United States Attorney Stephen Biskupic (Eastern District of Wisconsin) was excoriated by the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit last year in an extraordinary decision that freed the innocent state worker, Georgia Thompson.

From the Associated Press:

MADISON,Wis. (AP) -- A lawmaker wants the state to force the federal government to reimburse an employee who was wrongly convicted in federal court.

The Legislature's budget committee voted to recommend reimbursing Georgia Thompson more than $228,000 in attorney's fees and other costs stemming from her wrongful conviction.

But Democratic Rep. Pedro Colon of Milwaukee says he will push for an amendment requiring the Wisconsin Department of Justice to pursue all reasonable means to collect that money from the federal government.

He says Thompson's prosecution was politically motivated to damage Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle. Thompson was convicted of steering a contract to a supporter of the governor.

She spent four months in prison before an appeals court ruled she was innocent.

For more information:

- DoJ on Biskupic Prosecution: 'How in the heck did this case get brought?'
- U.S. Atty Scandal Broadens, Thompson Prosecution Retains Focus of National Media and Congress
- A Woman Wrongly Convicted and a U.S. Attorney Who Kept His Job