MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A federal lawsuit challenging whether Wisconsin's election maps were constitutional has resulted in the state paying nearly $1 million in legal bills.
Dana Brueck of the Wisconsin Department of Justice tells The Associated Press $925,000 was spent on costs and fees for special counsel.
The lawsuit was filed last year by Democrats and a Latino-rights group. They sued the state Government Accountability Board to prevent it from implementing the new maps, which Republicans had drawn in secrecy. The Justice Department represented the GAB.
Democratic state Sen. Mark Miller says the money could have been used to help crime victims, if the DOJ didn't have to defend maps that were drawn behind closed doors.
Republican state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald says the Legislature did what it was supposed to do.
