Wisconsin #1 in Black Incarceration; How Did We Get Here?

A new report from the UWM Employment and Training Institute shows that Wisconsin leads the nation in incarcerating black males.  Based on data from the 2010 U.S. census, Wisconsin incarcerates about one in every eight of its black men between the ages of 18 and 64.  This includes individuals held in state and local correctional facilities.  The Badger State’s black incarceration rate is, in fact, about one-third higher than that of the second-place state, Oklahoma, and nearly double the national average.

Wisconsin also leads the nation in incarcerating Native-American males, but its white-male incarceration rate (one-tenth of the black rate) closely tracks the national average.  Wisconsin’s Hispanic incarceration rate is actually below the national average.

The Milwaukee County data are particularly striking: more than half of the County’s black males between the ages of 30 and 44 have been or currently are housed in a state correctional institution.

Is this a recent phenomenon?  I’ve taken a look at some historical data on racial disparities for my three-states research.  The following graph indicates that Wisconsin has been above Indiana and Minnesota for some time in black imprisonment (that is, prisoners per 100,000 residents), but that the current wide gap did not really open up until after 1990: 

Continue ReadingWisconsin #1 in Black Incarceration; How Did We Get Here?

SCOTUS Weighs in on Forced Blood Draws in DUI Cases

In the wake of today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Missouri v. McNeely, DUI defense attorneys across the land are doing the “happy dance.”  Prosecutors (both state and federal) on the other hand are rending their garments and hair trying to figure out how to deal with the high court’s ruling that forced blood draws in most DUI cases will now require warrants, and the flood of “refusals” sure to follow as the implications of the case filter out to the public.

Wisconsin’s approach, first established in 1993 in State v. Bohling and then reinforced in 2004 in State v. Faust had been to allow warrantless blood draws in drunk driving cases after several criteria were met, including the presence of  probable cause for the officer to believe the driver under investigation had indeed been driving under the influence of alcohol. The key factor that drove the Wisconsin interpretation was the fact that the blood alcohol level of a drunk driving suspect is continually shifting and dissipating from the time the driver is apprehended, and the extra time it takes to procure a warrant incontrovertibly causes BAC evidence to be lost.

Wisconsin’s rationale had recently served as a kind of dividing line in the national debate about warrantless blood draws. 

Continue ReadingSCOTUS Weighs in on Forced Blood Draws in DUI Cases

Doggie Drug Abuse–Public Policy Had a Hole Chewed Through It

PrescriptionsSurprisingly, Governor Scott Walker signed a bill this week, March 13, 2013, to exempt Wisconsin veterinarians from the state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program requirements of

1. Collecting data outlined in the state PDMP law, Pharm 18.

2. Submitting any PDMP data collected since the law took effect on Jan. 1, 2013.

I am torn on how to feel or what to think. On one hand, they are claiming this burden on veterinarians would have cost $7 million a year to the industry, ultimately passed on to the consumer of veterinary services. So kudos to the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association for protecting their members from the costly burden of recording and reporting and for protecting the consumer against increased costs of veterinary care.

On the other hand, the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) was introduced by the Pharmacy Board division of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, formerly the Department of Regulation and Licensing, to protect the public. “The Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) is a tool to improve patient care and safety and to reduce the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs.” The duty of this department, which licenses all professionals in Wisconsin except attorneys, is to protect the public–the consumer and their property/animals–not the veterinarian.

Continue ReadingDoggie Drug Abuse–Public Policy Had a Hole Chewed Through It