Voiland’s latest target in court saga is Ozaukee Press

Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Joseph Voiland, who accused fellow court officials of criminal misconduct and is suing the chief district judge who ordered an investigation into his accusations, has demanded Ozaukee Press retract its reporting on the investigation.

Ozaukee Press has rejected Voiland’s demand, which under Wisconsin law must be made before a libel lawsuit if filed. 

The lawyer representing Ozaukee Press, James Friedman of the Madison law firm Godfrey & Kahn, said the statements in news articles alleged by Voiland to be libelous are true. 

“We have reviewed your demand and the newspaper articles at issue,” Friedman wrote to Voiland’s attorney, Brent Nistler of Wauwatosa, “and we have determined that the identified statements in the articles are true. Hence, our clients do not intend to publish a retraction or correction.” 

In a Nov. 27 letter to Ozaukee Press, Nistler accused the newspaper of publishing libelous stories and headlines when it reported that the administrative investigation of the Ozaukee County Court System determined Voiland’s claims that three court officials have committed felony misconduct in office were false.

Bill Schanen III, publisher of Ozaukee Press, issued the following statement in response to Voiland’s retraction demand:

“No news organization has reported on Joseph Voiland’s actions as an Ozaukee County circuit judge in greater depth or more detail than Ozaukee Press, and we stand by the accuracy of that reporting unequivocally.

“There is no basis in fact for his retraction demand, and we reject it. 

“Judge Voiland may not like the series of Ozaukee Press news articles that detailed findings by two investigations that his accusations of criminal misconduct against a judge and two court officials had no merit, but, as the judge should know, that does not make them libelous or inaccurate.

“Judge Voiland’s threatened lawsuit against Ozaukee Press fits the pattern of his failed attempts to discredit court officials he claimed were conspiring against him. His accusations of criminal misconduct by an Ozaukee County judge, court commissioner and clerk of courts were found to be baseless, yet he persists in his aggressive tactics, most recently by suing the chief district judge who ordered one of the investigations of his charges. If Judge Voiland’s reputation has been damaged, it has been at his own hand.

“Ozaukee Press’ reporting on Judge Voiland’s actions will continue unabated.”

In response to Voiland’s demand, Ozaukee Press noted that the reporting in question referred specifically to Voiland’s claims that court officials had engaged in criminal conduct and was based on the findings of the administrative investigation conducted by former U.S. attorney and retired Dane County Circuit Judge Patrick Fiedler, who concluded, “I find that there is no basis to believe that anyone has violated Wis. Stat. 946.12 Misconduct in Public Office. There is also no basis to find that anyone has violated any other criminal statute.”

Investigations of the Ozaukee County Court System date to May 2016 when Voiland contacted the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation, alleged that court records had been falsified to undermine him and advised a special agent that “violations of (Wisconsin statute) 946.12, Misconduct in Public Office, were applicable to the actions of the (Circuit Court) Commissioner Barry Boline, Clerk of Courts Mary Lou Mueller and  Judge (Paul) Malloy,” according to a 357-page report that became public in January.

That investigation ended abruptly in September 2017 without conclusions or recommendations.

In February, Chief Judge of Wisconsin’s Third Judicial District Jennifer Dorow ordered the administrative probe conducted by Fiedler “to address recent reports and concerns related to court administration.”

In addition to finding that the court officials accused by Voiland did not commit crimes, Fiedler concluded that Malloy and Boline acted properly in cases flagged by Voiland.

In response to Voiland’s accusations against Mueller, Fiedler found that Mueller had “reasonable” explanations for some of her actions. In other cases, mistakes, one of which he described as an “innocent error” by a deputy clerk, were made but Mueller “has taken appropriate measures to correct past errors and to ensure that court records are accurate going forward,” Fiedler wrote in his report.

Voiland also questioned whether the Clerk of Courts office had handled payments for family court services, mediation and custody study fee properly. An audit that was concluded in October determined the office was handling payments according to state statute.

But Fiedler’s investigation may not have settled things in the Ozaukee County Court System.

Last month, Voiland filed a petition for a writ of mandamus — a court order — naming Dorow as the defendant, accusing her of violating the state’s open records law and asking a judge to order her to release records related to the administrative investigation.

In  addition to a court order, Voiland is suing for punitive damages and legal fees.

The records dispute began in July, two weeks after Dorow released the findings of the administrative investigation, when Voiland’s attorney wrote to Director of State Courts Randy Koschnick requesting documents gathered during the investigation.

Voiland also requested records from Dorow, but the issue became bogged down over questions about what records he was seeking and from whom he was requesting them, according to correspondence between Voiland, his lawyer, Dorow and Koschnick that was filed with Voiland’s lawsuit.