It’s Sunshine Week in America: a seven-day focus from the American Society of News Editors and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on “access to public information and what it means for you and your community.” One doesn’t have to be a reporter (and bloggers, for example, are not reporters) to understand the importance…
Law
Faith, Immigration, Law, Trump
‘Christians Build Bridges, Not Walls’
by JOHN ADAMS •
In Texas, a white adobe chapel built in 1899 on the banks of the Rio Grande sits in the proposed path of President Donald Trump’s border wall. A Border Patrol agent stands sentry yards away. A military helicopter—part of Trump’s troop surge at the border—drowns out Father Roy Snipes. It’s akin to “saying Mass in…
Courts, Elections, Law, Wisconsin
Chief Judge Lisa Neubauer for Supreme Court: Fairness. Justice. Equality
by JOHN ADAMS •
Courts, Law, Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, a Case of First Impression on Social Media Contacts
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals handed down a decision today concerning social media. The appellate court held that a trial judge’s decision to accept a litigant’s Facebook friend request during litigation before his court created a risk of actual bias, resulted in the appearance of partiality, and so was a due process violation for which trial judge’s…
America, Congress, History, Law, Misconduct, Trump, Trump-Russia
The Case for Impeaching Trump
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yoni Applebaum contends It’s Time to Impeach Trump (“Starting the process will rein in a president who is undermining American ideals—and bring the debate about his fitness for office into Congress, where it belongs”): On January 20, 2017, Donald Trump stood on the steps of the Capitol, raised his right hand, and solemnly swore to faithfully…
Crime, Law, Trump
Circumstantial Evidence is Often Very Reliable
by JOHN ADAMS •
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 •
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 •
Authoritarianism, Federal Government, Law, Race, Trump
Undermining His Own Case for a National Emergency
by JOHN ADAMS •
Elizabeth Goitein observes Trump Is Destroying His Own Case for a National Emergency (“By waiting for Congress to act, the president is undermining the legal basis for any declaration”): Here’s how the legal process for emergency powers works: Under the National Emergencies Act, passed by Congress in 1976, the president has broad discretion to declare a…
Courts, Elections, Law, Wisconsin
‘This is not a close decision’: Federal Judge Strikes Down Lame-Duck Changes to Wisconsin Voting Laws
by JOHN ADAMS •
Laurel White reports Federal Judge Strikes Down Lame-Duck Changes To Wisconsin Voting Laws: The restrictions limited early voting in Wisconsin to the two weeks before an election. In recent years, cities including the Democratic strongholds of Milwaukee and Madison have offered several weeks of early voting. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the new restrictions into…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, City, Crime, Democrats, Harassment, Law, Misconduct, Republicans, Trump, University, UW System
Immoral (and Unnecessary) Compromises
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
Conflicts of Interest, Crime, Federal Government, Law
Trump’s Attorney General Nominee Wrong on Obstruction of Justice
by JOHN ADAMS •
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…
Babbittry, Bad Ideas, CDA, Conflicts of Interest, Crony Capitalism, Economy, Elections, Gov. Walker, Kakistocracy, Law, Laws/Regulations, Local Government, Mendacity, State Capitalism, State Government, Tony Evers, WEDC, Wisconsin
Once a Gerrymanderer…
by JOHN ADAMS •
Wisconsin, with a gerrymandered legislature and a crony capitalist, lame-duck governor, was never going to have an easy transition back to a tradition of democratically representative government and sound economic policy. The men who engineered years of the wrong approach were never going to go gently to the political outer darkness that, deservedly, awaits them.…
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 •
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…