The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a divided vote on Thursday that state lawmakers can hire private attorneys at taxpayer expense even before a lawsuit has been filed, an extension of what had been done under current law.
Read More »Tag Archives: Lester Pines
DOJ official alleges racial, sexual harassment
A top Wisconsin Department of Justice administrator filed a federal complaint alleging that she's being underpaid and harassed at work because she's a Black woman.
Read More »Justices say governor should oversee school policy (UPDATE)
Wisconsin's Supreme Court reversed itself Tuesday and allowed the governor to take control of public school policy from the state superintendent, a decision that could translate to a major victory for Republicans if they can defeat Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in three years.
Read More »Wisconsin Supreme Court weighs lame duck challenges
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has reinstated almost all of Republican legislators' lame-duck laws limiting Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul's powers, but the legal fight isn't over.
Read More »Judge denies Republicans’ attempt to join abortion lawsuit
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected Wisconsin Republican lawmakers' attempt to intervene in a Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging the state's abortion restrictions, saying in a strongly worded order that they presented no evidence that the Democratic attorney general wouldn't adequately defend the laws.
Read More »Firms showing signs of recovery in years following recession
When the economy tanked in the late 2000s and early 2010s, even large law firms in Milwaukee, far away from New York, felt the effect.
Read More »Abrahamson leaves legacy to remember
When Shirley Abrahamson leaves the state Supreme Court next year, she will leave a legacy to remember.
Read More »Lawmaker who removed sign says it was a security risk
The state lawmaker who removed an anti-Republican sign from the state Capitol rotunda says he did it because it posed a security risk.
Read More »State to pay $30,000 to settle sign theft lawsuit
State taxpayers will pay $30,000 to settle a federal lawsuit filed against a lawmaker who stole a sign from a protester referring to President Donald Trump as "sadistic," ''racist" and a "serial groper."
Read More »Evers’ allies try to block WILL lawsuit in Madison court
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin public schools Superintendent Tony Evers’ allies want a Madison judge to reaffirm that Evers doesn’t need Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s permission to write regulations. The state Supreme Court last year upheld a Dane County judge’s ruling that a 2011 state law requiring agency heads to get Walker’s approval before writing regulations doesn’t apply to Evers ...
Read More »Teacher suspended over documentary returns to work
A Wisconsin teacher is back at school after being placed on leave following complaints about a documentary shown in her class.
Read More »Former Wisconsin Corrections head loses appeal of firing (UPDATE)
A state panel rejected former state Corrections secretary Ed Wall's appeal of his firing, saying he knowingly tried to evade Wisconsin's open records law.
Read More »Madison firm, frequent foe of Gov. Walker shortens name
Cullen Weston Pines & Bach is now Pines Bach.
Read More »Testimony reveals inmates told secretary about abuse
New testimony reveals that inmates at Wisconsin's troubled juvenile prison swarmed the corrections secretary during a 2015 visit to complain that they were being harmed by staff.
Read More »Justices honor Crooks, no word on replacement
Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court held a moment of silence Tuesday to honor their colleague Patrick Crooks a day after his sudden death, while Gov. Scott Walker remained silent on whether he would appoint a replacement ahead of next spring's judicial elections.
Read More »State settles unused trains lawsuit for nearly $10 million (UPDATE)
The state of Wisconsin will pay a Spanish manufacturer nearly $10 million for two trains it built that were never used after Republican Gov. Scott Walker abandoned a rail project.
Read More »AG office unlikely to change tune with Schimel’s election
Wisconsin's attorney general's office will soon be making its transition from one Republican to the next, but those who watch the office say the changeover is likely not going to result in much overall change.
Read More »Lawyer saw writing on wall for Act 10 ruling
One of the lead challengers of Act 10 said he had a good idea which way the ruling would go well before the state Supreme Court handed down its decision Thursday.
Read More »The give and take of Act 10
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a 5-2 decision released Thursday that whatever collective-bargaining rights state lawmakers give out, they can just as easily take away.
Read More »Collective bargaining ruling raises right-to-work questions
Although the Wisconsin Supreme Courts’ ruling on Act 10 pertains only to public employees, a lawyer who challenged the law contends there could be implications for private-sector unions.
Read More »Judge Niess clarifies medical abortion law (UPDATE)
A Dane County circuit court judge ruled Thursday that doctors do not have to be present when a woman takes drugs prescribed for a medical abortion, a decision that allows the practice to continue in Wisconsin.
Read More »High court justices hear voter ID arguments (UPDATE)
Oral arguments Tuesday for a case challenging the state’s voter ID laws saw at least one Wisconsin Supreme Court justice invoking restrictive laws historically used to block blacks from participating in elections.
Read More »Court upholds costs for doctor’s discipline
A Wisconsin appeals court says a doctor accused of inappropriately touching female patients must pay for discipline proceedings.
Read More »Senate unlikely to vote on abortion bills (UPDATE)
The leader of the Wisconsin Senate said votes are unlikely next year on two anti-abortion bills that were originally scheduled to be taken up in November but hastily pulled after a Democratic senator promised "all out hell" if they were debated.
Read More »Officials decide to continue union votes after high court ruling
Wisconsin officials decided Monday to move ahead with elections that will allow school workers to decide if their unions should retain the last shred of negotiating power Republican Gov. Scott Walker left them.
Labor commission lawyer: Union elections likely
The attorney for the state's labor commission says union recertification elections are likely to begin next week given a Wisconsin Supreme Court order issued late Thursday.
Read More »State Supreme Court to hear voter ID cases (UPDATE)
The Wisconsin Supreme Court said Wednesday it will hear arguments in two separate lawsuits challenging the state's requirement that voters show photo identification at the polls, after saying three times previously it would not take up the issue.
Read More »Van Hollen on Act 10: ‘We shall win’ (PHOTO SLIDESHOW)
Arguing that the law penalizes those who exercise their constitutional right of association, Madison lawyer Lester Pines argued Monday that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court should strike down the state’s controversial collective bargaining legislation.
Read More »DOJ asks judge to stay abortion injunction (UPDATE)
The state Department of Justice asked a federal judge Thursday to stay a lawsuit challenging a new Wisconsin law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
Read More »DOJ appeals abortion law injunction
The Wisconsin Department of Justice has appealed a federal judge's injunction blocking a new law that requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.
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