Wisconsin violating the very basics of the system of government for Foxconn, says justice group

Legislature trying to allow manufacturer to skip Appeals Court in lawsuits 

Generally, Americans are supposed to be treated equally. That’s maybe not the case anymore in Wisconsin. 

A powerful legislative committee has voted to give the Taiwan-based manufacturer Foxconn some super special treatment: Any suit against the company will get appealed directly to the state Supreme Court.

For everyone else lawsuits are filed in circuit court and then appealed to an appeals court before maybe winding up at the Supreme Court.

In other words, Foxconn will just get to skip the Appeals Court.

It’s a dangerous precedent, says Gretchen Schuldt from Wisconsin Justice Initiative.

“There’s nobody else that gets this treatment until the Legislature decides that somebody else gets this treatment,” she said. “Why Foxconn and not Harley Davidson?”

Along with the special legal treatment, Foxconn will also get $3 billion in incentives from state taxpayers and a pass on some environmental regulations.

“It’s a horrid precedent,” Schuldt said. “And it’s the legislature budding into the functioning of the courts. There’s supposed to be a separation of powers.

“And now the legislature, or part of it, is trying to dictate to the court, how this process should work.”

Schuldt sees it as violating the very basics of our system of government.