APPEALS COURT HEARS KAYE v D'AMATO ARGUMENTS

By Michael Horne
[Updated, Friday, November 30th, 2007]
Special to the Readers of milwaukeeworld
The U.S. District Court of Appeals for the Seventh District got a chance to hear arguments Friday, November 30th, 2007 in Case 06-3139, Joseph Kaye v. City of Milwaukee et al. The oral arguments were taped and are available here at Milwaukeeworld.
Kaye's original suit, a RICO case accusing Ald. Michael D'Amato, Julilly Kohler and others of corruption, was laughed out of court by Judge John Stadtmueller last year. He imposed sanctions on Kaye, and ordered him to pay the attorney's fees in the case, which could amount to a ruinous sum.
Kaye, an attorney, wanted to argue his appeal pro se, but the court wisely declined that request, and provided him with a lawyer whose valiant efforts to remedy the many flaws in Kaye's case can be noted below in Document 6, and heard on the tape.
[Update -- I listened to the tape, and the arguments center on very technical items like the violation of Rule 58, which has to do with entry of judgment. Apparently Stadtmueller failed to dot some "i"s and cross some "t"s even though he said, quite unambiguously, that Kaye's complaint stunk and he had to pay all fees associated with the case and that it should never be heard of again. Judge Easterbrook seemed to be aware of the flimsiness of the Kaye case, but apparently this was not a matter immediately at hand. If there are any attorneys or retired federal judges out there who would like to take a stab at interpreting the 33-minute recording for the benefit of us laypeople, go right ahead. I'll be at home caluclating pi to another million digits, which should be quicker and less taxing to the brain.--Ed.]
One does not know ahead of time which judge might be assigned to the hearing, but I'm rooting for either Judge Easterbrook or Judge Posner. Neither are accustomed to suffering fools gladly; their forbearance will be sorely tested in court.
Stay tuned!

PANEL NAMED

The panel of judges has been named for this morning's arguments. The case will be heard by Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook, former chief Judge Joel M. Flaum and Ann Claire Williams.

The following is an excerpt from a decision of Judge Easterbrook on November 14th, 2007 (Case 06-3635; 06-3785). In it the judge excoriates the attorney in the case.

"He has performed below the standard of a pro se litigant; we have serious doubt about his fitness to practice law. The problem is not simply his inability to distinguish between plausible and preposterous arguments. It is his disdain for the norms of legal practice (19 issues indeed!) and the rules of procedure.

"This contains not a single fact and verges on illiteracy … this passage does not contain any argument (it is argument free, though full of assertion).

"We therefore give Barringer 14 days to show cause why he should not be fined $10,000 for his frivolous arguments and noncompliance with the Rules, and why he should not be suspended from practice until he demonstrates an ability to litigate an appeal competently and responsibly."

DOCUMENTS IN THE KAYE CASE:

File Name	Doc	Uploaded	Filed	Description
06-3139_001.pdf	1	10/17/2006	10/17/2006	Appellee Brief (case is being rebriefed)
06-3139_002.pdf	2	11/17/2006	10/17/2006	Appendix (case is being rebriefed)
06-3139_003.pdf	3	07/20/2007	07/19/2007	Amicus Brief
06-3139_004.pdf	4	07/20/2007	07/19/2007	Attached Appendix
06-3139_005.pdf	5	08/21/2007	08/21/2007	Supplemental Brief
06-3139_006.pdf	6	09/10/2007	09/04/2007	Appellant Amicus Reply Brief

D'AMATO WON'T RUN

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

Ald. Michael S. D'Amato, the third district alderman since 1996, has told friends he will not run for a fourth term, milwaukeeworld has learned from multiple City Hall sources. Neither D'Amato or his aide and potential successor Sam McGovern-Rowen were available for immediate comment. However, McGovern-Rowen, grandson of former United States Senator and 1972 Democratic Presidential candidate George McGovern, only recently adopted the hyphenated style of his name. How recently? Well, he filed papers on November 21st to run for the Third District Seat now held by his boss, D'Amato.
D'Amato is the chair of both the powerful Judiciary and Legislation Committee and of the Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee, and serves as the Vice Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee. His surprise decision makes him the first alderman to announce plans to not run in 2008. It opens the way for a free-for-all for the east side seat, where, in addition to McGovern-Rowen, at least five candidates -- Sura Faraj, Nik Kovac, John Connelly, Andrew Twist and Patrick Flaherty have already announced their plans to run, according to the City Election Commission. (Faraj has been knocking on doors along E. Kane Place, among other locations lately. Expect many others.) D'Amato, who has consistently filed his campaign reports electronically since this option was granted to candidates, took some heat recently in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for failing to include occupation information for 17 of the donors to his campaign committee, which has a balance of $146,993, according to the most recent report.
D'Amato submitted the missing information, giving the paper a chance over the holiday weekend to declare that he was the last alderman to finally do so. The paper on Sunday indicated D'Amato's action came after the City Election commission initiated a complaint against him with the City Attorney for failure to timely comply with a request to do so.
In retrospect, D'Amato's dilatory response should indicate he had already decided to leave the rigors of the legislative branch.
D'Amato had previously been mentioned as a possible candidate for County Executive, but he withdrew his name from speculation.
Even so, his will be a welcome face on the campaign trail as his $146,000 balance should make him a popular figure with other candidates who need to raise some cash during the upcoming election cycle.
While on the council, D'Amato was recognized for his chairmanship of the Zoning and Neighborhood Development committee, and his district was the centerpiece for Milwaukee's redevelopment during that time, sharing honors with the adjacent downtown-east side 4th district represented by first term Ald. Bob Bauman.
D'Amato's expertise on development issues created a sort of paranoia among political opponents who often claimed to have discovered never-documented improprieties in his actions. D'Amato always steadfastly denied these allegations, and even was forced to defend himself (successfully) in a federal civil RICO case brought by disgruntled developer Joseph Kaye. This case ended with Kaye getting spanked by the judge. (Google milwaukeeworld's archives for much more.)
D'Amato's future plans are unknown. However, Mayor Barrett has had a big vacancy in the Department of City Development since the departure of Joel Brennan to Discovery World, and perhaps he might call upon D'Amato to be the point person for city's Plan Commission and Redevelopment Authority, replacing Brennan, who previously served as executive secretary of these entities.
Milwaukeeworld will have more when there is more to report. Fair enough?
[Update -- Ald. D'Amato issued this statement shortly after the above post appeared. -- Ed.]

What's Your Take?
e-mail horne dot milwaukeeworld at gmail dot com