Tuesday, July 11, 2006

DNR actions not arbitrary and capricious

A Wisconsin Supreme Court case presents a fascinating puzzle.

The legislature and courts give such unbridled power to the DNR that nothing it does can be "arbitrary and capricious" in the legal sense of the term.

However, in the vernacular sense of the term, because there are no rules that it must use and apply in a consistent fashion, everything they do is inherently arbitrary and capricious.