Milwaukee City Attorney requests stay in strip-search cases

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The Milwaukee City Attorney’s office has filed a motion to stay the proceedings in four strip-search cases while it appeals to a higher court for a federal judge to be removed.

The motion, filed Tuesday, asks the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin to stay the proceedings in the strip-search lawsuits of Chavies Hoskin, Edward Wright, Jermaine Caine and Quantell Collier while the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit considers the city’s petition for Judge J.P Stadtmueller to be removed from the cases.

According to the motion, the stay is needed to maintain the public’s trust in the judicial system and “avoid irreparable injury” to the city of Milwaukee.

The petition for the writ of mandamus was filed Monday.

The Milwaukee City Attorney’s office had filed separate motions March 24 asking that Stadtmueller remove himself from the proceedings against Leo Hardy, Hoskin, Wright and Caine. In all four cases, the plaintiffs alleged they had been illegally strip-searched by the Milwaukee Police Department. Stadtmueller is one of a number of judges presiding over the cases.

Stadtmueller denied the motions April 10.