Marquette Law School Poll

Marquette University Law School will undertake a substantial statewide polling initiative during 2012. This will be the most comprehensive polling enterprise in Wisconsin’s history, following public opinion through a number of polls over the year. The goal of the Marquette Law School Poll is to provide a balanced and detailed understanding of how voters on all sides view and respond to the issues of the 2012 campaigns. The initiative will build upon the work at Marquette Law School of Mike Gousha, distinguished fellow in law and public policy since 2008, and Alan Borsuk, senior fellow in law and public policy since 2009. Leading the effort will be Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin–Madison professor of political science, who will be with us throughout 2012 as a visiting professor of law and public policy. Franklin is a national expert on statistical methods, political polling, elections, and public opinion. With the national attention that Wisconsin will receive in 2012 and Marquette Law School’s growing reputation as a premier neutral site for debate and civil discourse on matters affecting the region and points beyond—and with Franklin, Gousha, and Borsuk, together with interested faculty at the Law School and the larger university—there can be little doubt that the time, place, and people are right for the Marquette Law School Poll. The announcement and the underlying reasoning are expanded upon in this press release and in this detailed project description.

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Budget Cuts Haven’t Meant Prosecution Cuts Here, Santelle Says

In case any criminals reading this are hoping to avoid prosecution because budget cuts are reducing the reach of federal prosecutors, their hopes are ill-founded – at least for now, according to James Santelle, the U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Wisconsin.  

But down the road and even now in places other than eastern Wisconsin? Cutbacks in federal spending could and sometimes are translating into decisions not to prosecute cases, Santelle said. 

Speaking Tuesday at an “On the Issues” session at Eckstein Hall, Santelle told Mike Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, that the staff he oversees in offices in Milwaukee and Green Bay, has been reduced from about 80 several years ago to about 70 now. More cuts may lie ahead, he said.

But so far, the reduction has been accomplished without affecting decisions on who to prosecute, Santelle said. That hasn’t been true in offices of US Attorneys in some places around the country, where decisions on matters such as “smaller” drug cases or white collar financial crimes are being shaped by whether the office has adequate resources. He said a $1 million bank fraud in some instances may be below the threshold a prosecutor has set for bringing a case to court, given practical limits on how much can get done.

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New Issue of Marquette Lawyer Focuses on Sports Law Program and Milwaukee Getting “Smart on Crime”

The Fall 2011 issue of the Marquette Lawyer arrived this week.  The articles can be downloaded here.  Highlights include articles on:

The issue also includes an introduction by Marquette’s new President, Scott R. Pilarz, S.J.

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