Wisconsin’s Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned a decision Thursday that previously prohibited attorneys representing arrested Solidarity Singers from using a process that allows them to collect additional information before their trial.
According to University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor David Schultz, the "discovery process" is a method for both sides of a lawsuit to gather information about a case. This can be accomplished by requesting documents or asking questions of the other party.
Dane County Circuit Judge William Hanrahan originally ruled defendants could not use the discovery process in the Solidarity Sing Along cases.
Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, who was arrested in August 2013 for observing the protests, said the appeals court's ruling was the right decision and an indication the arrests in the Capitol were “improper and illegal.”
During the summer of 2012, Capitol Police arrested Anica Bausch and over 300 hundred people for singing and protesting.
Jim Murray, the attorney representing Anica Bausch in her case, said the decision would allow both parties to have access to additional documents and recordings before a trial.
According to Murray, the importance of the ruling lies in that it makes hundreds of similar cases “more efficient.”
Murray also called the ruling a “curveball” and said he now expects to receive useful information to help his client.
“For the last 10 months [attorneys and arrested citizens involved] have been denied what's been on the book in Wisconsin for more than a quarter of a century,” Murray said.
Murray predicted he will win his cases with the ruling and information he has been waiting on for 10 months. He said the attorney general's office could dismiss the other Solidarity Singers cases in light of the ruling because the cases could take longer to process.
According to Murray, the state is going to have a “heck of a time” justifying the ban on free speech. “They are going to look foolish,” he added.
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s Communications Officer Dana Brueck said in a statement the state is “still evaluating the implications of the decision and our future steps.”
The Capitol Police did not respond to requests for comment.
Sam Cusick contributed to this report.
