09-cv-764 Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee v. Brennan

Listen to this article

United States District Court
CIVIL OPINION
Civil Procedure
Intervention

Special interest groups cannot intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Impartial Justice Act.

“Here, proposed intervenors have no such unique, direct interest in the outcome of this suit as in a similar situation as the gasoline retailers did in Flying J. The Impartial Justice Bill serves no single special interest, but instead is intended to serves the public good by helping reach Chapter 11’s overarching ‘public purpose of stimulating vigorous campaigns on a fair and equal basis and to provide for a better informed electorate.’ Wis. Stat. ß 11.001(1).

“Nor do the proposed intervenors point to any portion of the statute permitting anyone but the state to sue alleged violators of the statute. Proposed intervenors are in a position more akin to that held by the Illinois Pro-Life Coalition in Keith, 764 F.2d at 1267, or the Illinois State Chamber of Commerce in Sierra Club, Inc. v. Environmental Protection Agency, 358 F.3d 516, 518 (7th Cir. 2004), both of which were found to lack a sufficiently direct interest to be entitled to intervene as a matter of right.’

“In addition to failing to establish a direct and substantial interest in the subject matter at issue in this case, proposed intervenors also still fail to establish that defendants will not adequately represent their generalized, political interests. ‘[W]hen the representative party is a governmental body charged by law with protecting the interests of the proposed intervenors, the representative is presumed to adequately represent their interests unless there is a showing of gross negligence or bad faith.’ Ligas ex rel. Foster, 478 F.3d at 774.

“While proposed intervenors contend defendants have failed to develop a factual record regarding the constitutionality of the challenged sections of statute, particularly as applied to plaintiffs, this does not approach gross negligence or bad faith.”

09-cv-764 Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee v. Brennan
W.D.Wis., Conley, J.