Legislature poised to approve changes to John Doe law

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Both the state Assembly and Legislature are set to approve bills that would make changes to a law that allows prosecutors to conduct secret investigations.

Wisconsin is the only state that conducts John Doe proceedings, which is the state’s preferred alternative to grand-jury proceedings that are standard in other states.

Assembly Bill 68 and Senate Bill 43 would make a series of changes to the John Doe law, including preventing the proceedings from lasting more than six months unless a panel of chief judges votes that there is good cause to extend the investigation.

Among other changes, reserve judges would no longer be allowed to preside over John Doe, and the costs of the proceedings would be made public.

The bill also would tighten the limits the John Doe law sets on what types of crimes prosecutors can conduct the secret investigations.

“What we’re doing here is making sure free speech can be the law of the land in Wisconsin,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said.

He said the proposal’s modifications will prevent unconstitutional investigations that are “ripe for abuse” and give too much power to prosecutors. The bill, he said, will expand protections for those not yet charged with a crime and limits the use of the John Doe proceeding.

Assembly Democrats attempted to introduce various amendments, including adding back specific crimes. By Tuesday afternoon, many of their motions had been tabled.

They also argued that the proposal would protect corrupt politicians, hobble prosecutors and saddle counties with the cost of grand jury proceedings, which require a group of jurors to be convened.

“Your bill picks winners and losers, and guess who wins? Politicians and their friends and their benefactors,” said State Rep. Evan Goyke, D-Milwaukee, who attempted to introduce a bill that would add back all the crimes that the proposal had removed.

In the Senate, debate began around midday and stretched into the afternoon Tuesday. It is unclear when either chamber would vote, but Republicans control both houses, making passage all but certain once the final votes are taken.

Since Walker took office in 2011, prosecutors in Milwaukee, along with the Government Accountability Board, have used the process to investigate whether Walker’s aides and associates when he was Milwaukee County executive campaigned on state time and whether his 2012 gubernatorial recall campaign illegally coordinated with conservative groups.

The first probe netted six convictions, although Walker was never charged. The John Doe investigation lasted about three years before the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court halted it this summer, finding it unconstitutional. Walker’s campaign coordinated with outside groups on issue advocacy, communications that don’t expressly demand voters elect or defeat a candidate, which amounts to free speech, the court said.

No one was charged in that probe, but it generated plenty of negative publicity for the governor as information on it leaked. Republicans loudly denounced the investigation as a political witch hunt.

The Associated Press also contributed to this report.