Federal magistrate orders taxpayers to pay group $70,000 in John Doe suit

MADISON - A federal magistrate judge has ordered the state to pay a conservative group nearly $70,000 in legal costs — about a quarter of what the group sought.

Thursday's ruling by Magistrate Judge David Jones in Milwaukee resolves an issue that has lingered for more than a year.

In 2014, Citizens for Responsible Government Advocates sued over state campaign finance laws. The suit came as other conservatives made similar challenges as they sought to end an investigation of Republican Gov. Scott Walker's campaign.

The state Supreme Court terminated the probe in 2015, but lawsuits related to it are still winding down in court.

CRG quickly won an initial ruling that allowed it to publish an advocacy website ahead of the 2014 election. The case went dormant soon afterward and CRG dropped it in 2016 after the Legislature adopted new campaign finance laws.

CRG sought more than $250,000 from state taxpayers in legal fees and court costs, but the court did not rule on the issue until Thursday, more than a year after the request was made.

Jones ordered the state to pay CRG nearly $70,000, finding that the group's lawyers had sought reimbursements for too many hours and at rates that were far above what taxpayers should have to pay.

Attorneys for CRG sought as much as $1,300 an hour for their attorneys' work. The magistrate judge cut the top rate to $585 an hour and slashed other rates, as well.

The group sought payment for 345 hours of work, but Jones determined it should have been paid for less than half those hours.

The state contended CRG should get not get any fees and, if it did, only a pittance compared to what it asked for. But Jones ruled the group's attorneys should be paid by the state because its "victory was by no means partial."

CRG filed its lawsuit as other conservatives took similar steps in response to an investigation of Walker's campaign launched in 2012 by Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm.

The investigation — which focused on whether Walker illegally worked with conservative groups during recall elections — was conducted under the state’s John Doe law, which at the time allowed prosecutors to conduct investigations in secret and compel witnesses to turn over documents. It became known as John Doe II because it followed an earlier probe of Walker aides and associates that resulted in six convictions.

The state Supreme Court in 2015 ended John Doe II in a 4-2 ruling that found nothing illegal occurred and said candidates and outside groups can work together closely.