Senate sends bill creating commercial courts to Evers 

The state Senate today signed off on legislation that would create specialized courts that would exclusively handle business cases.

The bill, which next heads to the guv’s desk, comes after the liberal majority on the state Supreme Court discontinued a pilot program that utilized commercial courts for business cases that included disputes over governance or internal affairs.

State Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, knocked the proposal, saying it would allow wealthy Wisconsinites to get “their own hand-picked judges while the rest of us wait for our day in court.”

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“Creating specialized courts might sound good until you realize this is about creating a rocket docket for guys like Elon Musk,” Roys said.

GOP state Sen. André Jacque, one of the bill’s co-authors, rejected that characterization. The New Franken Republican pointed to the success the courts had during their run as a seven-year pilot program initiated by the state Supreme Court.

The state Supreme Court began a pilot program in 2017 under then-Chief Justice Pat Roggensack to establish business courts in eight counties. The court extended the project twice under the former conservative majority. But it voted 4-3 last year to terminate the pilot project.

The Senate approved the bill 18-15 along party lines.

Under AB 73, the Supreme Court chief justice would select judges who would handle the commercial docket in each district if they agreed to take on the role.

The cases that would go through those courts include unfair competition or antitrust claims, mergers, and real estate construction disputes that exceed $250,000.

The Senate also approved via voice vote an amended version of AB 75, which would require the state Department of Justice to collect information on criminal cases and public reports on the data. The amendment the Senate added sends the bill back to the Assembly for sign off before it can go to the guv.

The bill the Assembly approved 54-43 included information such as whether the defendant was released without bail, conditions of release and any plea deals offered.

The amendment pares the bill back to focus the report on the charge the person was arrested on by law enforcement, charges filed and dismissed, if there was a conviction, and the officials assigned to the case.

It also tweaked the format of the report DOJ would have to submit with the data.

State Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, argued the proposed requirement would make it easier for the public to keep tabs on decisions made in the courts and see how they vary county-by-county.

“Transparency fosters accountability,” he said.