Wisconsin: What we pay to be disenfranchised
http://m.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/legal-costs-for-gop-redistricting-plan-top-2-million-b99133178z1-230278471.html#continue_reading
Legal costs for GOP redistricting plan top $2 million
Madison Wisconsin's long legal battle over redrawing congressional and legislative districts to favor Republicans cost taxpayers $2.1 million $200,000 more than previously reported, newly released legal bills show.
The bills also show a criminal defense attorney was hired for Capitol aide Adam Foltz in the late stages of the litigation as the plaintiffs raised concerns about the failure of the Republicans to turn over records in the case. Others lawyers involved in the case were focused on civil law. Foltz's legal bills alone came to more than $26,000 $14,420 for the Milwaukee law office of criminal defense attorney Michael J. Fitzgerald and $11,874 for Foltz's civil attorneys at Peterson, Johnson & Murray of Milwaukee.
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The legal fight also proved a financial challenge to Michael Best & Friedrich, the law firm that helped Republicans draw the political maps. Taxpayers paid the firm $431,000 for that work, but it later had to turn over more than $377,000 to the plaintiffs. Michael Best retained a separate law firm in the midst of the redistricting litigation, raising the possibility that the work on the maps cost the firm more than it made. Officials at Michael Best could not be reached late Friday.
The $2.1 million cost to taxpayers covers the legal costs for just one legislative fight. There are others as well. For instance, taxpayers paid nearly $1 million to Michael Best for its work helping defend Gov. Scott Walker's limits on collective bargaining for public workers.