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 | 10 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. [...]

Jun

25

Ozanne v. Fitzgerald: Haste Makes Waste

Posted by: | June 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment

On June 23, I participated in a discussion concerning the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in Ozanne v. Fitzgerald, 2011 WI 43, on the Wisconsin Eye public affairs show “Legally Speaking.”  Rick Esenberg and I continued our ongoing difference of opinion regarding this litigation, which seems to generate an endless supply of novel and contentious legal [...]

Jun

8

The Constitutionality of the Open Meetings Law

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

During oral argument this past Monday in Ozanne v. Fitzgerald, the Wisconsin Supreme Court was asked to rule that the Open Meetings Law violates the Wisconsin Constitution to the extent that the law grants authority to the Wisconsin circuit courts to void legislative enactments passed in violation of its provisions. This is not a novel argument.  [...]

May

27

Judge Sumi Does Her Job

Posted by: | May 27, 2011 | 4 Comments

Judge Maryann Sumi issued the long anticipated opinion in Ozanne v. Fitzgerald yesterday, holding: 1) that the circuit courts have jurisdiction to hear cases alleging that a particular piece of legislation was not constitutionally enacted; 2) that the court’s jurisdiction includes challenges alleging noncompliance with Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law; and that 3) the failure of the March 9, [...]

Mar

30

Fallone v. Esenberg: Round Two

Posted by: | March 30, 2011 | Leave a Comment

On this morning’s Joy Cardin show on Wisconsin Public Radio, I continued my debate with Professor Esenberg over whether the collective bargaining bill has become law, and on the ongoing litigation over the effectiveness of the bill before Circuit Judge Sumi.  You can find the audio of the program here:   http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca Rarely have two experienced [...]

Mar

28

Publish or Perish: The Budget Bill is Not Law

Posted by: | March 28, 2011 | 27 Comments

The danger, when we embark on the task of interpreting any written work that is not our own, is that we only see what we want to see.  I admit that words are imperfect tools for the conveyance of meaning, and that oftentimes multiple interpretations of a text are possible.  However, I reject the idea [...]

Mar

11

The Morning After: Lessons From the Wisconsin Budget Battle

Posted by: | March 11, 2011 | Leave a Comment

At last the end game has arrived for the budget bill, after more than three weeks of deadlock in Madison.  Indeed, it was obvious to everyone that the impasse could not persist, and that the only two options available were either a compromise (unlikely) or the eventual adoption of Governor Walker’s bill intact. Wisconsin’s largest newspaper, [...]

Mar

4

Best of the Blogs: The Mess in Madison

Posted by: | March 4, 2011 | 4 Comments

This month’s Best of the Blogs feature takes a look at the budget debate in Madison.  In my opinion, it is myopic to focus solely on the budgetary aspects of the ongoing debate.  This is a raw political struggle, in which Governor Walker has attacked the primary source of campaign funding for Democrats.  The debate [...]

« previous entries — keep looking »