Feb

3

The Court of Appeals Speaks in the Recall Case

Posted by: | February 3, 2012 | 10 Comments

Today, the District IV Court of Appeals issued an opinion that reverses a ruling by the Waukesha County Circuit Court denying a motion to intervene in the case of Friends of Scott Walker v. Brennan.  The practical impact of today’s Court of Appeals decision is that the committees seeking the recall of Governor Walker and other [...]

Jan

28

Prosecutorial Discretion in the John Doe Investigation

Posted by: | January 28, 2012 | 2 Comments

Over at the Shark and Shepherd Blog, Rick Esenberg has put up a post questioning whether the recently filed criminal complaint in the ongoing John Doe investigation of the County Executive’s Office during Scott Walker’s tenure justifies the time and expense spent thus far on the investigation. I posted several comments in response to Rick’s [...]

Jan

24

The Roots of Progressivism Lie in . . . the Republican Party?

Posted by: | January 24, 2012 | 10 Comments

Tonight, when President Barack Obama delivers his third State of the Union address, he is widely expected to channel the progressive rhetoric of Theodore Roosevelt. It was Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism” speech in 1910 (quoted in my previous post here) that called for the federal government to play an active role in regulating the economy. When he speaks [...]

Jan

5

Friends of Scott Walker v. GAB Changes the Recall Rules Mid-Stream

Posted by: | January 5, 2012 | 7 Comments

Today, Judge J. Mac Davis ruled that the Government Accountability Board must take “affirmative steps to identify and strike duplicate, fictitious or unrecognizable signatures as it reviews the recall petitions expected to be filed against Gov. Scott Walker.”  The ruling comes in the case of Friends of Scott Walker v. GAB, filed in Waukesha County [...]

Dec

8

Why the Permit Policies in the U.S. Capitol Are Irrelevant

Posted by: | December 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Confusion continues over the new Department of Administration rules announced December 1 which require advance permits for many demonstrations held within the Wisconsin State Capitol. Among the more controversial aspects of the policy are its applicability to small groups of protestors and the discretion granted to the State Capitol police to require permit seekers to [...]

Dec

3

What Price Protest?

Posted by: | December 3, 2011 | 4 Comments

On December 1, the Wisconsin Department of Administration released new rules governing access to state facilities, including the State Capitol, for protests, rallies, demonstrations and any other “gathering of four or more people for the purpose of actively promoting any cause.” You may read the entire policy here. The most controversial aspects of the new [...]

Nov

13

The Original Intent of the Recall Power

Posted by: | November 13, 2011 | 1 Comment

Some opponents of the effort to recall Governor Scott Walker have claimed that the recall provisions of the Wisconsin State Constitution are intended solely to permit the recall of elected officials when they have engaged in criminal or grossly unethical conduct. The latest example of this claim can be seen in the column by Jonathan [...]

Oct

28

The Bride of Dracula: A Halloween Story

Posted by: | October 28, 2011 | Leave a Comment

It is Halloween, and time for my annual attempt at political satire.  Previous attempts at spooky political humor can be found here and here.  Public response to these efforts has been overwhelming, but I am going to keep doing it anyway. Scene: A decrepit stone mansion in suburban Minnesota. A great entry hall is lit [...]

Oct

8

Not a Pretty Picture: Potential Challenges to Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law

Posted by: | October 8, 2011 | 6 Comments

In August 2011, The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin publicly announced its intention to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new Wisconsin Voter ID law. While no complaint has been filed as of date, and it is undoubtedly foolish predict the likelihood of success of any lawsuit without first reading the complaint, [...]

Sep

27

Evolution and the Constitution

Posted by: | September 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Recent news reports make much of the fact that, with one exception, none of the current Republican candidates for President has been willing to embrace the theory of evolution as the commonly accepted explanation of how the multiple forms of life currently existing on our planet came to be.  Instead, several of the Republican hopefuls have argued pointedly that [...]

Aug

22

The Constitutional Right of Recall

Posted by: | August 22, 2011 | 4 Comments

The largest newspaper in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, continues to take the editorial position that the public’s right to recall elected officials should only be exercised in cases of misfeasance in office or of criminal conduct.  The editorial page actively disparages the use of the recall process in cases where voters simply disagree with the [...]

Jul

15

Separation of Powers and the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Posted by: | July 15, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Yesterday, I participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Madison Chapter of the Federalist Society, entitled “Separation of Powers: Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Decision Upholding the Collective Bargaining Law.”  The discussion was moderated by Justice Jon Wilcox of the Wisconsin Supreme Court (Retired) and along with myself the panel included Deputy Attorney General Kevin St. [...]

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