Eric Genrich has asked a Waukesha County judge to sanction Michael Gableman over the former justice’s effort to have the Green Bay mayor detained unless he sits for a deposition at a private office in Brookfield.
Among other things, Genrich wants Gableman to take out full-page newspaper ads to offer a public apology on the former justice’s charge that the mayor had violated his lawful obligation to provide testimony in the review of the 2020 election. Genrich also wants Gableman and the attorneys in his office to undergo at least three hours of ethics training and for the former justice to pay a fine.
Gableman this fall filed a motion in Waukesha County Circuit Court seeking to force Genrich and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway to sit for depositions or be detained in the Waukesha County jail until they agree to testify.
In yesterday’s filing seeking sanctions, Genrich’s private attorney argues Gableman left out essential context in his “extraordinary request” that makes the request “frivolous.”
According to the filing, Genrich’s lead private attorney Jeffrey Mandell had communicated to Gableman’s office that the city would voluntarily produce a series of documents related to the November 2020 election. In exchange, Gableman’s office agreed no one from the city would have to sit for a deposition as originally demanded in the subpoenas that were issued.
The brief also states Gableman’s office was told to communicate with the city’s private counsel. Instead, it sent two emails in late October to city attorney Vaness Chavez seeking to reschedule a deposition for mid-November.
But those emails were captured by the city attorney’s spam folder. They weren’t discovered until she began to transition out of the job. Green Bay’s private attorney then contacted Gableman’s office about the emails.
Gableman then filed the action seeking to compel Genrich’s testimony without any further contact with the city’s private attorney, which the brief says shows Gableman misled the court when he claimed Genrich failed to appear for a deposition “without justification.” In addition, Genrich’s attorney argues Gableman’s “misrepresentations, material omissions, and frivolous legal position” are deserving of sanctions.
See the motion:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/220104Gableman.pdf
Read the brief:
https://www.wispolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/220104Brief.pdf
