THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY IN WISCONSIN

With Milwaukee preparing to host the Democratic National Convention from August 17 to 20, we write to take stock of the damage, and of efforts to restore the state's democratic process. [...]we each separately represented groups favoring public health in the Legislature v. Palm case, where the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Progressive (Madison) 2020-08, Vol.84 (4), p.31-34
Main Authors: Poland, Douglas M, Mandell, Jeffrey A
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Attorneys general
COVID-19
Democracy
Litigation
Political parties
State court decisions
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Summary:With Milwaukee preparing to host the Democratic National Convention from August 17 to 20, we write to take stock of the damage, and of efforts to restore the state's democratic process. [...]we each separately represented groups favoring public health in the Legislature v. Palm case, where the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the statewide "Safer at Home" restrictions issued to curb the spread of COVID-19. In June 2020, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), a conservative nonprofit law firm that has been instrumental in much of the damage done to Wisconsin over the past decade, filed a rulemaking petition in the Wisconsin Supreme Court. To change course now, by approving Jensens petition, would signal a stunning reversal of established precedent. [...]by mandating that only the legislature, governor, and "political parties" are guaranteed the opportunity to participate in re districting litigation, WILLS proposed rules would inject partisanship into the legal process. [...]that opinion did not deeply engage the text of the state constitution, and now it seems likely that the GOP-controlled legislature will try again, especially with a conservative-dominated state supreme court that has consistently disregarded precedent. [...]as it has done over and over since Evers took office, the state supreme court sided with the legislature, disregarding decades of precedent and the plain text of the state constitution.
ISSN:0033-0736