Saturday, September 2, 2023

GERRYMANDER CHRONICLES: Wisconsin Republicans commit more than $1.8 million in taxpayer funds to defend rigged maps

 
HeadlineWisconsin State Journal, 9/2/2023
Under three contracts signed last month by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, Wisconsin taxpayers will be on the hook for more than $1.8 million in fees to outside attorneys who have been hired to defend the state’s existing maps — considered some of the most gerrymandered districts in the nation. 
A contract with law firm Lehotsky Keller Cohn states total fees will not exceed $870,000, while a second, with Consovoy McCarthy and Lawfair, states that legal fees through Aug. 15, 2024, will not exceed $965,000. 
A third contract, with Bell Giftos St. John, charges $450 per hour for attorneys’ time and $150 per hour for work by paralegals. The contract does not include a pay limit. 
The contracts, first reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, also require the Legislature to cover additional out-of-pocket costs.

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