Appeals court revives protest group lawsuit over Capitol sign tickets

[hue]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/appeals-court-revives-protest-group-lawsuit-over-capitol-sign-tickets/article_dba93299-794a-5cd2-b82e-2779ea1de2c7.html

A state appeals court on Thursday revived a civil rights lawsuit brought against state officials by a group of sign-carrying protesters who were ticketed at the state Capitol in 2011.

A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeals said that Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington made legal errors in dismissing the lawsuit brought by six people who were issued tickets for carrying signs. The judges also rejected the state's argument that the issue was moot because of changes in policies at the Capitol.

Writing for the panel, Judge Brian Blanchard wrote that Remington's errant decision may have kept him from deciding whether the lawsuit was moot because of the policy changes.

"We cannot discern what might have happened, or should have happened, in the proceedings before the circuit court absent the errors, adding to the difficulty of concluding that any issue should be treated as moot," Blanchard wrote.

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