Those were the words of SOUL representative Rob Danielson just after Judge Michael Newmark granted intervention to all the individuals who attended yesterday's prehearing conference at the Wisconsin PSC. Despite earlier clouds of smoke and "scary" letters with 18 pages of rules intervenors must follow, Judge Newmark said he had no choice but to admit all the intervenors who still expressed an interest as parties.
Even ATC's attorney encouraged the judge to grant intervention to those requesting it, including those who didn't bother to show up for yesterday's hearing. Cue the suspicious glances. This guy is not your friend. He shared that he plans to file data requests on each and every intervenor just to find out what their interest in the case is, and if they will be calling witnesses. I hope that's all there is to it, because as I recall, ATC seems to have a history of abusing the discovery process when faced with a crowd of pro se intervenors.
Even ATC's attorney encouraged the judge to grant intervention to those requesting it, including those who didn't bother to show up for yesterday's hearing. Cue the suspicious glances. This guy is not your friend. He shared that he plans to file data requests on each and every intervenor just to find out what their interest in the case is, and if they will be calling witnesses. I hope that's all there is to it, because as I recall, ATC seems to have a history of abusing the discovery process when faced with a crowd of pro se intervenors.
ATC works hard to silence its critics. Besides hiring police to keep dissenters out of its meetings, the company seeks to discourage ordinary citizens from taking part in the Public Service Commission's review process.
When ATC first proposed building a 138-kilovolt line in Waunakee, 92 Dane County residents signed up as "intervenors." This allowed them a more intimate role in the approval process, rather than simply speaking at the PSC's public hearings.
ATC reacted quickly. First it challenged the citizens' right to intervene. The company noted that many did not live anywhere near the Waunakee line and were simply concerned about other projects in Dane County. ATC also sought to deny some public funding for the Sierra Club and Citizens for Responsible Energy. (The PSC funds public and nonprofit groups that intervene, so they can hire attorneys and experts to advise them.)
These approaches failed, so ATC took it up a notch. Most of the citizens argued that conservation, not building new power lines, is the key to meeting Dane County's energy needs. So ATC sent the individual intervenors a 16-page interrogatory, drilling them on their personal energy use. The questions included, "How many light fixtures are located on your current property, and of these, how many are currently fitted with fluorescent light bulbs?"
ATC also demanded the intervenors' addresses for the past five years, the square footage of each residence, and all of their monthly electric bills. For residents whose property the Waunakee line would directly cross, ATC also wanted a home appraisal, tax assessment or purchase agreement documenting the price paid for the home.
Attorney Frank Jablonski, representing Citizens for Responsible Energy, calls ATC's questions "unnecessary and possibly abusive." He says a neighborhood group that tried to intervene was treated similarly, with ATC demanding the names of all its members. "It's absolutely outrageous intimidation by an entity that is completely out of control."
But the tactic worked. Scores of residents, including Ann Emerson, withdrew as intervenors. "I finally bowed out because it was so overwhelming," she says.
That tactic probably isn't going to work this time. The judge already raised the issue, saying that ATC could not ask intervenors the color of their dog, for example, because it has absolutely nothing to do with the matter at hand. Intervenors need to remember what's on trial here -- ATC's transmission proposal -- and not the actions, beliefs, or lifestyles of the intervenors. When ATC gets a little too nosy, intervenors can simply object to the question. It would then be up to ATC to file a motion to compel and try to convince the judge to force the intervenor to answer.
Judge Newmark is serious about justice and due process. He did nothing yesterday that leads me to believe otherwise. Intervenors should get a fair shake from Judge Newmark. However, intervenors need to strive to follow the rules and deadlines set by the judge. One topic the judge raised yesterday was intervenor testimony. He seemed quite worried that testimony would be a mess and after ATC refused to help him out, the judge said he would develop his own questions and sample testimonies for benefit of intervenors. I think it was ATC's attorney who suggested merely supplying a copy of correctly concocted testimony as an example. The absurdity of testimony Q&A is never quite as sharp as when concocted by pro se intervenors. Correctly formatted testimony consists of a question asked by some mysterious, unnamed party, which the witness answers in written form. Except with pro se parties, they are asking their own questions and playing Q&A with themselves. (Don't worry, the lawyers for the utilities are playing the same game, they just don't like to admit it.) Once you get over the stupidity of playing Q&A with yourself, testimony must be double spaced on numbered lines on numbered pages. (Your word software should be able to do this for you if you ask it to... look it up if you don't know how). Why? It's always important to know why you're doing something that seems odd and useless. It's so your testimony can be correctly cited during the hearing and briefing. Instead of saying "...that part where he says he caught ATC's attorney going through his trash can..." everyone can simply reference Page 5, Lines 15-17, of Intervenor Suzy Q.'s testimony. You'll fully appreciate this when it comes time to write your own brief.
Judge Newmark is serious about justice and due process. He did nothing yesterday that leads me to believe otherwise. Intervenors should get a fair shake from Judge Newmark. However, intervenors need to strive to follow the rules and deadlines set by the judge. One topic the judge raised yesterday was intervenor testimony. He seemed quite worried that testimony would be a mess and after ATC refused to help him out, the judge said he would develop his own questions and sample testimonies for benefit of intervenors. I think it was ATC's attorney who suggested merely supplying a copy of correctly concocted testimony as an example. The absurdity of testimony Q&A is never quite as sharp as when concocted by pro se intervenors. Correctly formatted testimony consists of a question asked by some mysterious, unnamed party, which the witness answers in written form. Except with pro se parties, they are asking their own questions and playing Q&A with themselves. (Don't worry, the lawyers for the utilities are playing the same game, they just don't like to admit it.) Once you get over the stupidity of playing Q&A with yourself, testimony must be double spaced on numbered lines on numbered pages. (Your word software should be able to do this for you if you ask it to... look it up if you don't know how). Why? It's always important to know why you're doing something that seems odd and useless. It's so your testimony can be correctly cited during the hearing and briefing. Instead of saying "...that part where he says he caught ATC's attorney going through his trash can..." everyone can simply reference Page 5, Lines 15-17, of Intervenor Suzy Q.'s testimony. You'll fully appreciate this when it comes time to write your own brief.
“This is a work in progress,” [Judge Newmark] said. “Really the first time we’ve had this many parties.”
A new window of democracy opens in Wisconsin. All that fresh air is going to be exhilarating. Any person, especially an attorney, who values their own convenience and personal grudges over democracy should probably question their life choices. Democracy won the day!
RSS Feed