Auditor DiZoglio’s lawsuit over auditing the Legislature moves to full Supreme Judicial Court

Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s lawsuit to force the Massachusetts Legislature to hand over financial records for an audit will head to the full Supreme Judicial Court, after a single justice decided against issuing a solo ruling.

DiZoglio filed the lawsuit last month, or more than a year after state residents approved a ballot question granting her the power to audit the Legislature. Democrats who lead the House and Senate have refused to cooperate with DiZoglio’s probe.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell had asked Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt to dismiss DiZoglio’s case, arguing the auditor violated state law when she bypassed the AG's office to file her legal challenge.

In a court filing Wednesday, Justice Wendlandt said the issues Campbell raised in her motion to strike DiZoglio’s lawsuit “warrant consideration by the full court.”

Campbell is representing the state House and Senate in the legal matter, according to court filings.

“To be clear, at this time, I am not reporting or deciding the merits of the State Auditor's dispute with the Legislature. The motion to strike presents threshold issues that must be resolved first,” Justice Wendlandt said in court documents.

Michael Leung-Tat, the top lawyer in the DiZoglio's office, said the auditor is "fighting the for the people of Massachusetts who voted to mandate that we audit the Legislature."

"Our office welcomes the opportunity to make the people’s case before the full court. The Attorney General’s Office cannot continue to stand in the way of the people or stand in the place of the courts," Leung-Tat said in a statement to WBUR.

Representatives from both House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka declined to comment.

DiZoglio’s lawsuit asked Wendlandt to order Mariano, Spilka and the clerks of both legislative branches to turn over budgets, past financial audits, monetary transactions and settlement agreements.

The legal challenge also called on Wendlandt to appoint a special assistant attorney general to the Office of the State Auditor to oversee further legal action. Wendlandt rejected that bid earlier this month, saying DiZoglio had not provided any legal basis for such a move.

DiZoglio’s legal gambit before the state's high court came after she unsuccessfully sought approval from the attorney general to take the House and Senate to court over the Legislature’s unwillingness to participate in an audit.

Campbell argued DiZoglio had not provided enough information about the scope of her audit or the precise legal arguments she aimed to use in a lawsuit.

DiZoglio has said that Mariano and Spilka are breaking state law and undermining democracy by not willingly participating in an audit approved in the 2024 election with 72% of the vote.

Mariano and Spilka have said any investigation into their inner workings violates separation-of-powers principles in the state constitution.