Even in the best of circumstances, it's hard to beat City Hall.
But try taking on the bureaucracy in court when a city agency is doling out cash to a firm co-owned by the judge.
That's the situation faced recently by a Milwaukee nightclub.
In truth, the owners of Texture were doing quite well in their legal squabble with the city.
In August, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Charles Kahn Jr.ruled that the Common Council had exceeded its authority by refusing to renew the liquor license for the Walker's Point nightclub. Kahn even called into question the process the city uses for issuing alcohol and liquor licenses.
"This undid years of city practice," said David Halbrooks, a former assistant city attorney who represents the nightclub.
It was an unexpected outcome for a dance club with a questionable track record.
But the victory didn't last long.
On Sept. 15 - a month after the court ruling - a city committee awarded a $50,000 grant to a firm owned by Kahn and his wife to fix up the front of a building they own. Kahn's wife had submitted the application two weeks earlier.
The veteran judge immediately disclosed the conflict.
Kahn explained that he would recuse himself from the case because he and his wife got the grant, in effect, from the defendant. The only way he'd consider staying on, he said, was if he was asked to do so by the opposing parties.
The nightclub owners, who had received the favorable ruling, agreed.
They said they trusted the judge to remain impartial.
City attorneys balked.
They did so even though it was a city agency that created the conflict by awarding the grant.
The result: Kahn is off the case - and Milwaukee officials are off the hook. - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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