Judge in Wisconsin Union Cases: ‘Transparency for Thee, but Not for Me’
by Brett Healy
So, just how important is transparency to Judge Maryann Sumi in Wisconsin?
Taxpayers trying to follow the curious case of the Madison teachers’ job action that closed down the district’s 48 schools for four days in February will get an incomplete picture from official court documents.
There is no official court record of the beginning of the February 18th court hearing during which Madison Metropolitan School District requested an injunction to end its teachers’ sickout. The MacIver News Service has learned that Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi began that hearing without a court reporter present.
On Friday, February 18th,the Madison sickout had been going on for three days, and the district was looking for ways to force teachers back into the classroom.
“As I understand it, MTI communicated that the teachers would be back Tuesday but had no assurances for Monday, and so the district went forward with the legal action on Friday afternoon,” wrote Ed Hughes, Madison Board of Education member, on his blog. “It took some time to find a judge who could hear the motion, but Judge Sumi took the matter on late Friday afternoon.”
Tara Monthie, a court reporter, was on her way out when she got called back to record the hearing.
“It was odd,” Monthie told the MacIver News Service. “I got there and it had already started.”
Ironically, it was Sumi, who issued a temporary restraining order blocking publication of Governor Scott Walker’s budget repair bill which restricted the collected bargaining powers of Wisconsin’s government unions. In that case she was concerned that Wisconsin’s open meetings law may have been violated during the process of passing the law (it wasn’t).
“This was something that would and did catch the public unaware,” Sumi said when issuing the order in March. Sumi said the Conference Committee’s hurried meeting, allowable under legislative rules, amounted to a “closed session of a body … propelling legislation forward.”
Yet she had no problem, just weeks earlier, commencing a high profile hearing in her court room, on the very same subject no less, without a court reporter present.
Curious.
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55 Comments
no big surprise here…
Transparency as a topic only means one thing: That conservatives must conduct every act under intense left wing scrutiny.
As to the left it will evoke a 'What?'- followed by a blank stare…
I'm sure her Union boss son is quite proud of his Momma, Sotomayor lookalike.
Every single person in this District should call their Representative and "demand" this be investigated and charges filed. This bitch has got to go.
Apparently Walker's latest folly is to declare "financial martial law" and take over management of municipalities that fail to meet with his approval.
"According to the reports, should a locality’s financial position come up short, the Walker legislation would empower the governor to insert a financial manager of his choosing into local government with the ability to cancel union contracts, push aside duly elected local government officials and school board members and take control of Wisconsin cities and towns whenever he sees fit to do so."
http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/04/16/gov-...
Are you sure you want to back this guy?
Sure would be nice if the WI Attorney General would do something about this corrupt Judge Sumi …
and her hubby. What a couple.
THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING! We thank the Democrats and their union financiers for this situation we find ourselves in today.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. This judge should have not taken the case due to conflict of interest.
Now, with the finding that she violated protocol by not having a court reporter present, she should be removed from the case and the state should review her misconduct in both cases. If found to have violated the rules, she should be removed from the bench.
It's getting closer and closer to tar-and-feather time. Theoretically speaking of course. I don't want Obama's union goons knocking on my door and asking "Whys' yous' sayin somthin' bout our judge?"
At bottom of your linked page:
UPDATE: Monday, April 18, 2011, 11:14 EST.
Appearing on Wisconsin radio station WTMJ today, Governor Walker has denied the truth of this story.
No truth to it whatsoever. Absolutely a bogus story.
Absolutely false. The interesting part is that it’s false in both contexts. One: There’s nobody on my staff, nobody in my administration, I’m certainly not working anything remotely close to that. Secondly, it begins with the fact that he said the next Democratic assault. I’d like to know what the first one was.
Tell me moron. How does "when a locality's financial position comes up short" equate to "whenever he sees fit?"
Read much?
More Canuck_SHlT…..
Outcomes are the only thing that matters…
The sky is NOT falling… The earth is rising.
You mean like happened in Detroit… with a Democrat Governor?
Oh well, it's not the facts that matter. Just the seriousness of the charge.
Figures. Thanks DTOM.
OK. Called out again you lying sack of sh*t.
Why aren't you up in Detroit protesting Democrats actually taking away union pay and benefits?
And just why do you think Wisconsin has such a huge financial problem? Was it because they don't tax enough or spend too much?
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/69771807.h...
Yes.
I've empathy for the good Canuck's.
If this judge proceeded without a court reporter to enter documentation of the procedings into the official record; which is a legal requirement in most states; any and all court orders and findings may be able to be completely voided.
Without an offical record or transcript of the proceedings, if required by Wisconsin statute, any and all court orders could be considered as "illegal".
But let it not be said that a mere "legality" ever hindered a raging Liberal from doing whatever they damn well please.
One word…
Disbarment ! !
Canuck, did you read the comment posted by DontTreadOnMe? Care to retract your claim?
Just the sternness of the facial expression when the wild allegation is made, maybe. And the willful gullibility of the douche who repeats the allegation on his blog.
Meh- don't thank me. That took no effort.
Yeah, they're not all hosers….
The corrupt Libtard progressive left democrat motto..
Do as I say Don't Do as I DO…
Tyranny folks. These are the steps they take to get us there.
Top down, bottom up, inside out….
Power corrupts, corruptive power incompetently applied boomerangs. Bad Karma for the hack known as Sumi.
d(^_^)b http://libertyatstake.blogspot.com/
"Because the Only Good Progressive is a Failed Progressive"
"The liberties of a people never were, nor ever will be, secure, when the transactions of their rulers may be concealed from them." ~ Patrick Henry
You plebs don't like the secrecy in which I conduct my court proceedings? Then go ahead and Sumi.
Is the earth rising, or did Obama follow through on that promise to lower the oceans?
How many different ways can you say "HACK?"
The court reporter has to be present or there's no legal record of the proceedings. Dumbass.
And no "rightwingers" broke laws.
It must suck to be you and wake up every day knowing you're on the wrong side of everything. But maybe your stupidity hides the fact of your pathetic state from you.
Can't pay more taxes when gas has gone up, heating oil goes up, unemployment is high and more and more people are leaving the state for NC. These people HAVE TO LEARN that cutting spending is the only way to balance budgets.
This is neither ironic nor coincidental. This is purely by design.
Well it's on my new avatar
Is he uglier than her? And they got kids? O.K. tell me again about special case abortion, i'll listen.
Frog march her butt in front of a judicial review board, if she's innocent then she's got nothing to worry about.
Or, as San Fran Nan so eloquently put it, ' Are you serious? Are you serious?'
Cry me a river.
The hearing was open to the public. The media was there. The lawyers for both sides were there. The judge summoned a court reporter who was a little bit late, so the hearing started without her. But, contrary to this piece of junk report, the court reporter did record the sum total of the argument made by the prevailing side.
And, to your other erroneous assertion, the judge has signaled, if not issued a final ruling, suggesting that she believes the legislature broke the state's open meeting law and will be reversed.
The right breaks laws and makes false (laughably easily to disprove) allegations.
I wish you could know how good it feels to Tread On the stupid ideas of rightwingers who will never know the values of real Americans who value decency and the rule of law.
liberals transparency is clear as mud,similar to interpretation of the word IS,IS,when they fear opposition or the word no (healthcare,etc)they push laws through behind closed doors,if you catch them cheating they use their puppet, bought off judges to overturn,something they dislike,we need to purge all crooked judges,even the supreme court,that legislate by political whims instead of unbiased constitutional law.otherwise laws,elections,enforcement,is in the hands of a dictatorship??
No "open meetings" laws were broken, moron. That was just HER excuse for halting things while she looked for a legitimate reason.
Okay … BUT Judicial Impartiality is theoretical, too. So….
Could you go over the RedLine marks that DO prescribe practical application ???
If this is really true? people of all ends of the spectrum should be against this kind of stuff!
She needs to be Impeached.
Ontario School Boards… McGuinty did it too..
"And all this from "McIver News Service" the free market voice for Wisconsin — so not even a legitimate news service. My sides are splitting.'
And that of course would be because you are a stupid little asshat who believes everything that comes out of the MSM and the Soros Cesspool like 'Stink Progress' and 'Media Blathers'…..
Baa Baa Baa Baa
LOL!
That would be "What? Me Worry?"
No transcript of a hearing on a TRO is required by statute or rules. There is a tape recording of the proceeding even when a court reporter is present. I presume that the tape was made in addition to the late arrival of teh court reporter.
It was a Friday and they had a hard time finding a judge and a court reporter. Like most public employees their grueling 4+ day work weeks cannot be interupted by actually working on a Friday afternoon when they were both scheduled and paid.
Wow, well I guess I am going to tread on your stupid lefty ideology. If you were you accused of wrongdoing and are innocent, wouldn't you want to make sure that everything that is said before the Judge is recorded and on record? Your argument is so lame and apparently you know nothing of laws.
Alfred E. Neumann would be verklempt with such a comparison!
This woman who calls herself a judge should be thrown off the bench.
Rules, constitutions and laws mean nothing to these people. Its all about the end justifies the means and boy are we getting a real time, in your face, finger in the eye lesson of what will be the norm if Obama gets another term in office.
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