"I'm an elections lawyer retained in connection with a matter before the Elections Board"
- Michael S. Maistelman
I have a special practice. I handle one client. Now you have my number. I'll wait for your call. By the way, I admire your pictures very much. - Tom Hagen The Godfather
Not only did Bucher settle the Donovan Riley matter, but he finally received a notarized complaint from Republican Party executive director Rick Wiley concerning the tampering with the state elections board by Doyle campaign attorney Mike Maistelman.
By submitting the complaint, Wiley showed more grit than JB Van Hollen who dropped his defamation case against Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and the Greater Wisconsin Committee.
And this guy is going to be the state's top attorney?
Paul Bucher wouldn't have been such a wuss.
Perhaps one reform the legislature could take up is a measure to prevent the filing of frivolous lawsuits by candidates for public office in an attempt to intimidate or discredit political opponents. I suggested as much over at the One Wisconsin Now blog:
I think a better reform would be to require any candidate for public office filing a law suit for defamation within 30 days of the election to post a $5000 filing fee or bond refundable only upon successful conclusion of the lawsuit. If your reputation has truly been wrongly wounded, $5000 is a small price to pay.
This would not discourage out of court settlements as the $5000 could easily be a part of that, but the amount should be enough to discourage the filing of suits merely to attempt to intimidate your political opponents.
