The probes into the troubled Lincoln Hills School for Boys have expanded to include a federal grand jury, opening up the possibility that the state’s former corrections secretary could testify before it. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Madison — Federal agents investigating staff abuses at a troubled prison for youths in northern Wisconsin are examining not only if laws were broken but whether there was a pattern of civil rights violations against inmates there, officials said Tuesday.

Depending what FBI agents and federal prosecutors find, Wisconsin could find itself facing the same kind of formal federal civil rights investigation being conducted into police departments in cities such as Ferguson, Mo.

As part of the ongoing investigation, federal officials have brought the investigation into Lincoln Hills for Boys to a grand jury meeting in Madison, opening up the possibility that the state's former corrections secretary will be called to testify before it.

Underlining the scope of the inquiry into Lincoln Hills is confirmation Tuesday that there are two simultaneous probes into the prison north of Wausau: one that could lead to criminal charges and another that could prompt a federal court order to reform the alleged abuses there.

"The Department of Justice, my office and Washington, are reviewing all materials, all the news articles, all the reports generated by the Wisconsin Department of Justice, and then a determination will be made if a pattern and practice civil lawsuit, a civil investigation is warranted," said U.S. Attorney John Vaudreuil, who added Washington must approve a formal investigation and that has not occurred yet.

Last month, Vaudreuil acknowledged the existence of a federal criminal civil rights probe, saying, "We'll go wherever the facts take us. ... Are there any criminal violations of federal civil rights laws? Essentially, has there been the unlawful criminal use of excessive force in any specific situations?"

The investigations have already led to the resignation of former Corrections Secretary Ed Wall and his awkward return — mandated under state law — to a job he once held in the state Department of Justice, one of the agencies investigating Lincoln Hills.

Despite a recent law overhauling state civil service rules, Wall is now on paid leave in a $108,000 a year state job while the probes continue.

"In light of the FBI's ongoing grand jury probe into the criminal activities at Lincoln Hills, in addition to the United States Department of Justice's ongoing pattern and practice investigation of the same, it is likely that former Secretary Wall will be called to testify or to be interviewed as part of those separate investigations," said Anne Schwartz, a spokeswoman for state Attorney General Brad Schimel. "To assure that the public has confidence in those outcomes, (the Wisconsin Department of Justice) decided that it is best if Secretary Wall remain on paid leave and not have access to any DOJ facility or access to its computer systems."

The criminal investigation into Lincoln Hills and its sister institution, Copper Lake School for Girls, includes allegations of second-degree sexual assault, abuse of prisoners, and intimidation of victims and witnesses. A grand jury can be used to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to advance an investigation, and it also can be used by prosecutors to seek criminal charges.

In a "pattern and practice" investigation of state or local agencies, authorities examine whether their policies and conduct violate the civil rights of citizens under federal law and the U.S. Constitution.

If federal officials find such abuses, these investigations can eventually result in a public report on the findings, negotiations with local officials, a lawsuit and an order in federal court — overseen by an independent monitor — to overhaul local practices, according to the federal Department of Justice.

In the case of Lincoln Hills, Vaudreuil said his office and the FBI are sending information to Washington, D.C. U.S. Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta will make the decision of whether a formal pattern and practice investigation will be opened. If an investigation is opened, the state may be able to settle the matter short of a lawsuit, Vaudreuil said.

If there is not a settlement, the case could result in a so-called "consent decree," which lays out a plan for reforming the problems within an agency and is then supervised by a federal court.

Such agreements can lay out a range of changes, from training and procedures to internal investigations of future problems. It can sometimes take years to reach such an order and years more to implement it.

As of December, the federal Department of Justice had eight open investigations into police departments and was enforcing 17 agreements with law enforcement agencies, including 13 consent decrees.

In 2008, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement over inadequate mental health care for female inmates at Taycheedah Correctional Institution in Fond du Lac. In that settlement and another with the American Civil Liberties Union, the state agreed to spend millions of dollars to provide female prisoners with the same level of psychiatric treatment as male inmates.

The actions followed years of reporting on the problems by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Chris Ahmuty, executive director of the ACLU of Wisconsin, said his group is monitoring the Lincoln Hills probe and would consider legal action if the ACLU later feels that the federal investigation hasn't addressed all the problems there.

In a statement, Schwartz said Schimel had no choice but to place Wall back into the job he had previously held leading the state Division of Criminal Investigation. That agency has been involved in the probe of Lincoln Hills since January 2015.

Wall is entitled to the job under the state's civil service law, despite recent legislation overhauling that system and revising the practice of state workers receiving so-called "bumping rights" into other jobs.

Gov. Scott Walker signed that legislation last month, rewriting the rules within the state's century-old system of merit hiring and firing. Schwartz said that law, however, didn't change the requirement in Wall's case.

One change in the legislation said that employees who are laid off from their current job no longer have a right to reinstatement to their former positions. But that change doesn't take effect until July 1.

The two lead sponsors of the civil service overhaul, Sen. Roger Roth (R-Appleton) and Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke (R-Kaukauna), and a spokeswoman for Walker had no comment.

Two weeks ago, Walker tapped Jon Litscher, a former corrections secretary, to replace Wall as the head of the agency.

Jason Stein reported for this story in Madison and John Diedrich in Milwaukee.