One reads that the Daily Union, a local paper chasing alleged embezzlement first reported in the Janesville Gazette, has decided to grab the story and add a supposedly clever headline: Honest to goodness, how does editor Chris Spangler expect ordinary people to keep up with a subtle headline like that? One needs to take a…
Crime
Crime, Politics, Trump
Why Michael Cohen Is a Key Witness
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Crime, District Attorney, Walworth County
Walworth County D.A. Wiedenfeld’s Charging Push
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There’s a story from the Janesville Gazette about how Walworth County’s district attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld is charging more frequently even as arrests in Walworth County are down significantly. See Walworth County DA charging more cases even though arrests are down. (For a post about Wiedenfeld’s insistence that he have a veto over judicial placements into…
Crime, Law, Trump
Circumstantial Evidence is Often Very Reliable
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Trump’s defenders – many of whom would otherwise support aggressive criminal prosecutions – sometimes argue that the case against Trump is merely circumstantial (no “direct evidence of collusion”). These apologists ignore what in other cases they might acknowledge: that circumstantial evidence can strongly, reasonably support a conclusion. Eric Swalwell and Chuck Rosenberg (as recounted by Natasha…
Courts, Crime, Law, Walworth County
Scenes from the Alabama Walworth County Legal System
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
One reads that Walworth County treatment courts face uncertain future after DA questions role: The future of Walworth County’s treatment courts is uncertain after District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld at a special meeting Tuesday questioned his office’s participation in the programs and its level of control over who enters them. Most questions from Tuesday’s meeting went…
Corruption Probe, Crime, Federal Government, History, Law, Trump
Nixon Called for an End of an Investigation, Too
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, District Attorney, Josh Kaul
A Bit More on D.A. Chisholm, Investigations, and Election Results
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Yesterday I linked to a story from Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel about Milwaukee D.A. John Chisholm’s proposed investigation: Milwaukee DA John Chisholm calls for a statewide review of Catholic Church abuse files. In an email last night, a reader sent along a detailed assessment of what an investigation would require, and I replied privately to…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Crime, Democrats, Harassment, Law, Misconduct, Republicans, Trump, University, UW System
Immoral (and Unnecessary) Compromises
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
There’s a certain kind of Republican who rationalizes Trump’s many vices because, well, Trump has nominated some conservative judges. (Hugh Hewitt, who’ll rationalize anything to keep a job on the Salem talk radio network comes to mind. See It’s the Supreme Court, stupid.) If there’s an equivalent of this, it’s a certain kind of Democrat…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Crime, Culture, University
Elizabeth Bruenig Writes of Amber Wyatt
by JOHN ADAMS • • 2 Comments
In September, Elizabeth Bruenig wrote about Amber Wyatt, a classmate she barely knew in 2006 when both attended a high school in Arlington, Texas. Wyatt was raped that year, and when she reported the crime, she found, in Bruenig’s words, that ‘few believed her. Her hometown turned against her. The authorities failed her.’ I first…
Conflicts of Interest, Crime, Federal Government, Law
Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Wrong on Obstruction of Justice
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Daniel J. Hemel and Eric A. Posner conclude Yes, [Trump Attorney General Nominee] Bill Barr’s Memo Really is Wrong About Obstruction of Justice. They respond with 6 arguments concerning federal bribery law, “facially lawful” acts, obstruction and collusion, the Starr investigation, the theory of a unitary executive, and the context of appointee Barr’s memo. I’ve…
Crime, Culture, Newspapers
Weak Underneath
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
The was an armed robbery in Whitewater this week. Robbery is wrong and armed robbery especially so. There’s neither justification nor excuse for the crime. Radio station WFAW reported the crime in a straightforward way, but the Daily Union on Facebook crudely described the suspects not as black males (as would be conventional) but rather as male blacks. …
Corruption Probe, Crime, Misconduct, Russia, Sanctions, Trump, Trump-Russia
Lifting Russian sanctions key to Trump deal exposed by Cohen
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Rachel Maddow shows how the Trump Organization’s continued pursuit of a Trump Tower Moscow deal into the 2016 campaign, exposed by Michael Cohen this week, explains Donald Trump’s soft stance on sanctioning Russian entities, including the bank that would finance the Trump Tower deal. Trump has survived dozens of political or financial acts that would…
Courts, Crime, Law, Litigation, Police, Walworth County
‘Family of Milwaukee man killed by Walworth deputy in botched drug sting files federal lawsuit’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Bruce Vielmetti reports Family of Milwaukee man killed by Walworth deputy in botched drug sting files federal lawsuit: The family of a 21-year-old Milwaukee man killed by a Walworth County sheriff’s deputy during a botched drug sting has sued the county, two municipal governments and several officers, who the family suspects destroyed dashcam video of…
Crime, Mendacity, Misconduct, Newspapers
Daily Union‘s Story on Teacher Dragging Student Through Halls: Weak and Weaker
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
For years the Daily Union has failed readers by misleading residents about events in their own area, and today their supposed crime reporter Ryan Whisner and his editor (Chris Spangler) blow another story, this time about a teacher in Waterloo who allegedly dragged a small child down the hall of the child’s school (there is…