Wisconsin v. Illinois

Background

The Court issued an order appointing a special master to take evidence and oversee hearings in a case pending before the Court. The order names the special master’s powers and procedures and expressly contemplates participation by parties in a related suit between the State of Michigan, the State of Illinois, and the Sanitary District of Chicago.

Reasoning

The Court directed that the special master be given authority to employ stenographic and clerical assistants, set times and places for taking evidence, issue subpoenas, and administer oaths. The master must report findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations for a decree to the Court; that report will be printed, presented to the Court, and open to party exceptions within a reasonable time fixed by the Court. The order also provides that the master will be paid actual expenses and reasonable compensation to be fixed later, and that those costs, including assistants’ pay and printing, will be charged to the parties in proportions the Court later directs. The Court reserved its authority to consolidate the related Michigan–Illinois suit if appropriate and authorized the Chief Justice to name a replacement master during the Court’s recess if necessary.

Real world impact

The order gives a court-appointed investigator clear power to collect sworn testimony and require witnesses to attend, structures how the investigator reports to the Court, and creates a mechanism for parties to pay and later object to the investigator’s work. The master’s findings are submitted to the Court for review, so the report itself is not the final decision and may be examined, approved, modified, or otherwise disposed of by the Court.