Speakers at Marquette – Page 100 – Marquette University Law School Faculty Blog

Neumann the Outsider

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:April 5, 2010
Post category:Speakers at Marquette

Mark Neumann is not Lee Dreyfus, but if Neumann is going to be elected governor of Wisconsin this year, it’s going to be by capitalizing on much of the appeal that Dreyfus had in 1978 as a Republican who was glad to say that he was not versed in the ways of Madison’s state capitol.

Neumann invoked his standing as a businessman who is not a professional politician often in an “On the Issues with Mike Gousha” session at Marquette University Law School last week.

Neumann is regarded widely as the underdog in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker the favorite. The winner is expected to face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the only major candidate for the Democratic nomination, in the November final election.

In answering questions from the audience and from Gousha, the Law School’s distinguished fellow in law and public policy, Neumann did not take much issue with Walker on policy. Both strongly oppose the high-speed rail project proposed for Chicago to Milwaukee to Madison, both have strongly criticized the new national health insurance law, and both advocate holding down taxes and cutting state regulatory requirements on businesses.

Scott Walker: Break Up MPS

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:March 11, 2010
Post category:Milwaukee Milwaukee Public Schools Speakers at Marquette

The Milwaukee Public Schools system should be replaced with ten to twelve smaller school districts, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker said Thursday in an “On the Issues” session at Marquette Law School.

Asked by host Mike Gousha, the Law School’s Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy, what he would do about problems facing MPS, Walker said, “I’d legally eliminate it and start all over. . . . Wipe it out, start over again, legally redefine the school district.”

Walker, Milwaukee County Executive since 2002, said his two children attend schools in Wauwatosa and a district of that size or smaller is better managed, can better focus on students, and can benefit from more of a sense of community supporting it. The existing MPS structure is too big, and it is too difficult to make effective improvements, he said.

Filip Expresses Concern About the Return of Sentencing Disparities

Post author:Alan J. Borsuk
Post published:March 10, 2010
Post category:Federal Criminal Law & Process Federal Sentencing Speakers at Marquette

Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Mark R. Filip warned at Tuesday’s Hallows Lecture that disparities in sentencing by federal judges are returning since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled five years ago that sentencing guidelines are only advisory.

Filip, who also is a former federal judge and now practices with a Chicago law firm, said that United States v. Booker in 2005 reduced the import of sentencing guidelines that dated to the late 1980s, “returning us to an era of indeterminate sentencing.” While he said that commentary on Booker from both judges and defense lawyers has been generally favorable, data on sentencing patterns since the decision show that in different parts of the country, significantly different sentences are being given for comparable convictions.