The two hired gun consultants handpicked by the liberal justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court have agreed to keep “communications with members of the state Supreme Court” secret from the public that is paying their hefty fees.
The two consultants, Professors Bernard Grofman and Jonathan Cervas, are being paid up to $100,000 each to generate a report on redistricting maps. Not surprisingly, the consultants turned in a report on Feb. 1 that recommended ignoring all of the conservative maps and pushing the four Democratic maps.
They admitted in the report that one of the conservative maps, by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, did best or well on the constitutionally mandated redistricting criteria. The consultants then disregarded that for a “social science” model they created, following a new and ill-defined “partisan impact” criterion invented by the liberals on the court, essentially arguing that the best maps shouldn’t be considered if they don’t give Democrats a chance to seize control of the state Legislature.
However, the two consultants have agreed to keep the public out of conversations they have with the justices on all of this.
Their report revealed for the first time that they have agreed to a secrecy order, although it’s not clear why it’s necessary, especially since the redistricting maps will have a major impact on the Wisconsin public, likely by upending control of the Legislature and handing it to Democrats. The state Constitution grants redistricting authority to the Legislature, not to out-of-state hired guns. The court will make a decision on maps by March 1, in time for the 2024 presidential election.
“The consultants wrote that they “agree that we will keep any communications with members of the Court confidential and never disclose the contents of any discussion with members of the Court unless and until given permission by the Court.”
Interestingly, the contract Grofman signed didn’t mention the secrecy clause.
That contract says, “The cost for Contractor’s services provided pursuant to Section I of this Contract is a rate of $450/hour” not to exceed $100,000.
