State’s high court orders report on John Doe cases

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered the parties in three John Doe cases to submit a report on how oral arguments on April 17 and 20 should be handled.

The Supreme Court agreed in December to hear the cases, all of which stem from a John Doe investigation of Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and the conservative groups that support him.

According to a court order issued Wednesday, the parties must file by March 11 a joint written report on how oral arguments will be conducted before the Supreme Court.

The court has ordered that the report address specific topics, including: division of the oral arguments by time and by substance, whether the hearing room should be open the public for the entire oral argument, whether Wisconsin Eye and other media should stream the argument live, how unnamed organizations and individuals should be referred to during the arguments, and how documents subject to a secrecy order should be handled if a counsel wishes to read from or cite them.