Wisconsin judge questions attorney general's repeat lawsuits over settlement veto power
A Dane County Circuit Court judge criticized Attorney General Josh Kaul for filing another lawsuit that appears duplicative of a prior case about the legislature’s veto over state civil-settlement funds.
In Madison, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Ehlke rebuked Attorney General Josh Kaul for pursuing a hybrid lawsuit that mirrors arguments already decided in Kaul I, a 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling. The earlier case stripped the Joint Committee on Finance of its veto power over civil-settlement approvals, returning final authority to the attorney general. Kaul’s latest filing claims the committee still oversteps in two new categories of cases, prompting the legislature’s lawyer Misha Tseytlin to invoke claim preclusion.
Assistant Attorney General Hannah Jurss countered that the separation-of-powers claims are novel and distinct. Ehlke declined to rule on preclusion now, ordering focused discovery on the second category and reserving judgment on the first category for later, with the possibility of a summary-judgment motion after discovery.
Why it matters
The case could reshape how Wisconsin’s executive and legislative branches share control over public settlement funds.
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