Guest Patriot Games Posted July 23, 2007 Posted July 23, 2007 http://www.gazetteextra.com/openrecords071907.asp DOJ gives up on open records lawsuit Thursday, July 19, 2007 MADISON, Wis. - The state Justice Department has agreed to throw out a lawsuit against a state legislator accused of violating Wisconsin's open records law. Former Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, a Democrat, filed the lawsuit last year against Rep. Jeff Stone, a Greendale Republican. The lawsuit claimed Stone shared a plan that would have changed the governance structure of Milwaukee's airport with business interests but wouldn't give it to a county supervisor who opposed the idea. A spokesman for current Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, said the Justice Department decided not to pursue the case after a judge threw out a similar open records case against two other state lawmakers in June. Lautenschlager had sued Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, and Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, accusing them of sharing the draft of bill legalizing concealed weapons with the National Rifle Association when they refused to turn the draft over to her office. Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan ruled drafts aren't public records even when shared with lobbyists. The lawmakers racked up nearly $400,000 in legal bills defending themselves - fees covered by taxpayers. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper reported in Thursday's editions Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Richard Sankovitz dismissed the Stone case this week. A message The Associated Press left Thursday for Justice spokesman Kevin St. John seeking more details wasn't immediately returned. Quote
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