Attorney General Asks for Input

While I applaud the effort at transparency, why would he need to solicit comments from the public about opinions? I thought that the AG was supposed to offer legal opinions based on the law – not public opinion.

MADISON, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today unveiled a new process and website for all Wisconsinites to provide information and perspectives on proposed Attorney General Opinion topics prior to the beginning of the Department of Justice drafting process. The new Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) webpage, doj.state.wi.us/OpinionRequests gives anyone the opportunity to weigh in on issues facing opinion review.

“With the changes announced today, we are making the AG opinion process transparent and open to input from the public,” said Attorney General Kaul.

With the new website, all commentary submitted will now be open to public review through the public records process. Public records requests can be made through the Department of Justice Office of Open Government by phone, mail or online. More information about making a public records request can be found here.

By statute, the Attorney General must, when asked, provide the legislature and designated Wisconsin state government officials with an opinion on legal questions. The Attorney General may also give formal legal opinions to district attorneys and county corporation counsel under certain circumstances. Wis. Stat. § 165.25(3) and 59.42(1)(c). Please see 77 Op. Att’y Gen. Preface (1988) for a more detailed explanation of the criteria for requesting a formal opinion.

}

2102, 15 July 2019



Law | Politics - Wisconsin



Josh Kaul

5 Comments

jjf on July 16, 2019 at 5:42 am

Where do you think it says he intended to use public opinion as the basis for future AG opinions?
Mike on July 16, 2019 at 7:45 am

jjf:

for all Wisconsinites to provide information and perspectives on proposed Attorney General Opinion topics

“With the changes announced today, we are making the AG opinion process transparent and open to input from the public,” said Attorney General Kaul.

He is supposed to give legal opinions. a lot of legal opinions will not be very popular with the public at large, and the AG should not have to consider public opinion when making a decision on what is a legal process.
dad29 on July 16, 2019 at 8:39 am

Smell the Pander!
Merlin on July 16, 2019 at 9:14 am

A website with a comment section they’ll never read. Really pushing the envelope of transparent public service with that idea.
jjf on July 16, 2019 at 12:02 pm

or all Wisconsinites to provide information and perspectives on proposed Attorney General Opinion topics

I’ll emphasize the subject.

And if you click through…

Below is the list of current opinion requests the Attorney General’s office is considering, and a corresponding “Comment” link to provide expertise, legal analysis, or comment on that topic.

So the AG will apparently give a list of topics on future opinions of the AG (OAG, as they are known). And he’s inviting commentary. I think this could be extremely useful to all parties concerned about these issues.

It’s not as if he’s suggested he’ll only listen to party hacks and industry lobbyists. How did the previous AG generate his OAGs?

Do you know the term “amicus brief”?

Amicus briefs are legal documents filed in appellate court cases by non-litigants with a strong interest in the subject matter. The briefs advise the court of relevant, additional information or arguments that the court might wish to consider.