Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Vote Reporting In Case Decisions

By: Derek Hawkins//June 6, 2018//

Vote Reporting In Case Decisions

By: Derek Hawkins//June 6, 2018//

Listen to this article

WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Wingra Redi-Mix Inc. v. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, et al.

Case No.: 2018 WI 55

Focus: Vote Reporting In Case Decisions

In the instant case, the court is equally divided on the question of whether the unpublished decision of the court of appeals should be affirmed or reversed. The per curiam opinion does not list the names and votes of the participating justices. In Kleynerman, an opinion issued on March 21, 2017, I catalogued 115 of this court’s cases from 1885 through 2016 in which the names and votes of the participating justices were presented and 26 cases from 1849 through 2016 in which the names and votes of the participating justices were not presented.

Since Kleynerman, a total of two cases (including Kleynerman) have resulted in an equally divided court. The court did not present the names and votes of the participating justices in either case. In the instant case and its companion, the court continues to deviate from the court’s historical practice by failing to present the names and votes of the participating justices. The court has still provided no explanation for its change in practice.

Although the dominant practice has been to list the names and votes of the participating justices, this court’s historical practice has been inconsistent, and there is no established rule resolving the issue. My view is that the court should consistently report the names and votes of the participating justices in the event of a tie vote. Such a practice advances the important goal of transparency in government and is consistent with every other opinion of this court in which the vote of each participating justice is known to the public.

Affirmed

Concur: ABRAHAMSON, J., concurs (opinion filed).

Dissent:
Full Text


Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

Polls

Should Steven Avery be granted a new evidentiary hearing?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Legal News

See All Legal News

WLJ People

Sea all WLJ People

Opinion Digests