State Ex Rel. Bowman v. Barczak

The Public-Purpose Doctrine.

The principal challenge to the constitutionality of sec. 59.071, Stats., concerns the application of the public-purpose doctrine. Unlike most of the other constitutional stabs at this statute, discussed infra, no specific clause in the constitution establishes this doctrine; nevertheless, the public-purpose doctrine is firmly accepted as a basic constitutional tenet. Thus, in spite of its obscure origins, there is absolutely no challenge to the premise that public appropriations may not be used for other than public purposes.

The development of this unwritten…