Republican Senators in Wis. Vote to Authorize Arrest of AWOL Democratic Colleagues
In a move that the Wisconsin State Journal says is of questionable legality, the Republican state senators of Wisconsin voted today to authorize the arrest of 14 absent Democratic colleagues to force them to return to the state capital.
The missing group of lawmakers fled two weeks ago, to avoid participating in a controversial budget vote. They are believed to be hiding out in neighboring Illinois, beyond the reach of the senate’s arrest powers, the newspaper notes.
The state constitution says lawmakers can’t be arrested while the legislature is in session except for felonies, treason or breach of the peace. But a lawyer for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, says another provision of the constitution empowering the senate to enforce its own rules authorizes the forcible detention of the absent Democrats.
Attorney James Troupis says this interpretation is in accord with the purpose of the arrest restriction, which is intended to prevent lawmakers from being taken away from their work, the State Journal reports.
The arrest resolution also provides for absent senators to be fined $100 a day.
Meanwhile, a parallel effort to obtain a court order compelling Sen. Jim Holperin, D-Conover, to return to the Senate failed. An Oconto County Circuit Court judge said he lacked the power to make such an order and only the senate had the power to enforce its own rules.
He was ruling on a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Oconto County Republican Party Chairman Kevin Barthel, who is also represented by Troupis. In a written statement, Barthel said he filed suit as a resident of Holperin’s district rather than in his official role, the newspaper reports.
As Fitzgerald complained of a near “constitutional crisis,” Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, stated: “The Republicans have gone around the bend. They’ve just increased their bullying tactics and are producing an even greater divide in our state.”
