Many people in Wisconsin are under the impression that the disastrous probe into the state’s 2020 presidential election conducted by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman is over, as are its costs to taxpayers. They’re wrong.
Read More »Author Archives: Bill Lueders, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Chief justice proposal seen as rip on Abrahamson
A measure for a proposed state constitutional amendment to change how the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s chief justice is selected is on its way to passing a second consecutive legislative session, in time to appear on the April 7 ballot.
Read More »Book rips into both political parties
Any lingering doubts about the nonpartisan bona fides of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, the state campaign finance watchdog, should be annihilated by Mike McCabe’s new book, “Blue Jeans in High Places.”
Read More »AG race could be a sizzler
Both contenders in the Nov. 4 general election have ample resumes; both have prosecuted cases and run district attorney offices.
Read More »John Doe probe perceptions vs. reality
A recent column I wrote on the stalled John Doe probe into allegedly illegal campaign activities drew an impassioned email from a reader in Appleton.
Read More »More heat than light in AG race flap
Brad Schimel, the lone Republican candidate for state attorney general, ignited a firestorm early this year with his response to a letter alleging pay-to-play politics.
Read More »John Doe ruling alters campaign terrain
There seemed to be no doubt about it: The conduct that state Senate President Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, was recently caught on tape discussing – creating an outside group to attack his Democratic opponent – is against the law.
Read More »Voting bills get little lobby support
Some Republican state lawmakers, upset by a federal judge’s ruling against the state’s voter identification law, are vowing to introduce new legislation.
Read More »Making sense of John Doe II
The ongoing John Doe probe into alleged illegal activities concerning Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election campaign is nothing if not complicated.
Read More »Big money backfires in local races
One day before the U.S. Supreme Court opened new spigots of campaign cash, well-backed groups seeking to sway elections in two northern Wisconsin counties, Polk and Iron, inadvertently drove home another point: Throwing money into the process can hurt as well as help.
Read More »State needs openness advocates
Careful readers may have noticed that while many papers carry this column on their opinion pages, it is not an especially opinionated column.
Read More »Redistricting isn’t going away
Few legislative causes have drawn as much interest and as little momentum as redistricting, the drawing of new voter boundaries after each 10-year census.
Read More »Talk is cheap in John Doe probe
A lot of folks — perhaps too many — are spouting off about the John Doe probe launched by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office into the campaign of Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and more than two dozen conservative groups, among others.
New rules sought on asbestos suits
In April, Renee Simpson told a state legislative committee about her father, who was diagnosed last fall with mesothelioma, a virulent form of cancer associated with asbestos.
After nearly $1 million, Walker ends outside legal pact
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is wrapping up his contract with a politically connected law firm to help fight legal challenges over changes to collective bargaining for public employees, with payments from state coffers nearing the $1 million mark.
Read More »Bill could zap attorney work on electricity suits
Scott Lawrence, an attorney in eastern Wisconsin, thinks he knows why some state lawmakers want to make it harder to sue power companies over electrical problems that cause damage to farmers.
Spending subdued in state’s high court race
What if they held a Wisconsin Supreme Court election and nobody spent staggering sums trying to influence its outcome?
Read More »Recusal debate hits state Supreme Court race
In 2010, the Wisconsin Supreme Court reinstated a criminal conviction against Dimitri Henley.
Lemon law lawyer lays an egg
Turns out Vince Megna is himself churning out defective products. Somebody call a lawyer.