Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

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Category: Law

Justice Granted Access to Internet

by | 0805, 3 May 16 | | 0 Comments

This is ridiculous.

Justice, 49, was arrested after he allegedly drove to Muskego to meet and have sex with a 17-year-old girl he connected with through an online dating site. Over many months of text messages, which began when the girl was 16, Justice made repeated offers to pay for sex and sought a “sugar daddy” arrangement with the teen. He faces up to 50 years in prison and $200,000 in fines if convicted on the two felony charges.

Justice’s attorney, Steven Kohn, who asked for a modification to a condition of his bail, argued that since Justice is unemployed, he needs to use the Internet to find work. As a condition on his bond, Justice was barred from accessing the Internet “for any purpose other than for employment during normal work hours,” according to court documents.

Waukesha County Deputy District Attorney Lesli Boese objected, noting Justice would not be monitored.

“If he was accessing it in the workplace, they have the ability to monitor that but outside the workplace, there is no ability to monitor his usage,” Boese said.

The reason for restricting his access to the internet as a condition of his bail is because he used the internet as a means to perpetrate his alleged crime. He found his alleged victim trolling hookup sites on the internet. It is perfectly reasonable.

I could almost see the reasoning in allowing him to use the internet to find a job. After all, while he is unlikely to find a professional job, I do want him to find work somewhere. That is preferable to him getting on the public dole. But as the prosecutor points out, there is no way to monitor his usage. The only way he would get caught violating his parole is if he comments or logs into a site that he shouldn’t be on and someone sees it and reports it. Can’t Justice look for a job the old fashioned way with a little shoe leather and a phone?

If the judge thinks that Justice needs access to the internet to look for a job, couldn’t the judge at least make it somewhat possible to monitor him? Perhaps he could come into the police department and use a department computer for that purpose. Or perhaps the public library. Or even require that the police install monitoring software on his computer. It’s common for parents to have monitoring software on their kids’ machines – why not on Justice’s?

Waukesha County Court Commissioner Thomas Pieper, who ruled that Justice could use the internet, should be ashamed of himself for lifting this bail restriction.

Prosser retires from state’s highest court

by | 0749, 3 May 16 | , | 8 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

In a somewhat unexpected development, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser has announced his retirement. He will leave the bench in July. The jostling immediately began to find a suitable replacement.

Prosser has served on the Supreme Court for 18 years. Prior to being on the court, Prosser was a private attorney, district attorney and served for 18 years in the Wisconsin Assembly — including two years as speaker of that body. He was appointed to the bench in 1998 by Gov. Tommy Thompson and was elected twice thereafter.

While Prosser has not publicly stated a reason for his resignation, it is not hard to imagine that at 73 years old and after 44 years of public service, he wants to enjoy many years of well-earned retirement. It is also not hard to imagine that the contentious political climate of the court in the past few years in which Prosser was maliciously maligned made the decision to retire an easy one.

From 1998 to 2011, Prosser served with distinction and was respected by all. When Prosser was appointed, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had a liberal majority with Prosser finding himself on the more moderate side of the bench. He was elected unopposed in 2001 with 99.53 percent of the vote.

The court maintained its liberal majority until 2008, when Justice Michael Gableman defeated liberal incumbent Justice Louis Butler. Since then, Prosser has sat on the more moderate end of the conservative majority of the court. That was enough to draw withering fire from Wisconsin liberals when Prosser ran for re-election in 2011.

Prosser became the first target for Wisconsin’s liberals rebelling against newly elected Gov. Scott Walker. Prosser’s re-election effort was in the first election after Walker came into office and signed the Act 10 reform. Since Prosser was identified with the conservative majority of the court and his defeat would swing the court back to a liberal majority that would strike down Act 10, Wisconsin’s liberals and unions pulled out all the stops to defeat Prosser. They unfairly attacked Prosser and made him a proxy for Walker.

They lost. Prosser won. It was the first defeat for Walker’s opponents in a political war that continues to rage.

Since Prosser’s re-election in 2011, Wisconsin’s voters have continued to strengthen the conservative majority on the court to five of the seven justices. Because of this, Prosser’s retirement will not shift the balance of the court. By law, Prosser’s replacement will be appointed by Walker and will not stand for election until 2020. That is a lot of time for the voters of Wisconsin to get to know Prosser’s replacement and decide whether or not he or she is worthy of election.

The process for the appointment has already begun with several people submitting their names to Walker for consideration and several more expected to do so before the May 19 deadline. Many names being floated are current judges like Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Mark Gundrum, Thomas Hruz and Brian Hagedorn. Others are judges on lower courts like county judges Randy Kischnick and Jim Troupis.

This will be an incredibly important appointment for Walker. Wisconsin rarely fails to re-elect an incumbent Supreme Court justice with Butler being the only incumbent to lose re-election in the past 48 years. It is fairly likely that whomever Walker appoints will serve on the court until he or she is ready to retire.

Walker is entitled to appoint whomever he chooses and will surely spend an inordinate amount of time considering his choice. He will have time to deeply consider his choice. He should not appoint someone who has run for the court and the voters have already rejected. He should appoint someone who has demonstrated sound judgment. He should appoint someone who is young enough to give many years of service to the court if the voters want it. And most of all, he should appoint someone with a deeply conservative judicial philosophy.

Prosser has served the citizens of Wisconsin for more than two generations in two branches of state government, having stood for election 13 times. He deserves our gratitude and respect for his honorable service. Thank you, Justice Prosser — may you enjoy all that Wisconsin has to offer in your well-earned retirement.

Why Cops Don’t Shake Hands

by | 0651, 2 May 16 | , | 0 Comments

Makes sense.

His shaking hand is his gun hand.  If you shake that hand, you are tying up that hand.  If you’re a “bad” guy, you could suddenly over take him. He (sadly) has to think like that. All the time he has to imagine what you, yes even you, the soccer mom or the man in the suit on his way to work, might do to him in the worst case scenario.

His shaking hand is also his dominant hand, so offering it to you could leave him vulnerable. I want him to return home to me, so I don’t want him leaving himself open to you by shaking hands.

If you’re inside a car while shaking hands, you could grab a hold of his hand, floor the vehicle, and drag him along.

Replacing Prosser

by | 1450, 29 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

The Capital Times has a list of likely candidates to replace the retiring Justice Prosser. Of those on the list, I like Judge Gundrum the best. He was a good egg in the legislature and has been a solid judge.

Judge Mark Gundrum, Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II

Gundrum, a former Republican state representative, was appointed to the Court of Appeals in 2011. He served in the Assembly from 1999 until he was elected as a trial court judge in Waukesha County Circuit Court in 2010. He reportedly commuted with Walker to Madison during their time in the Legislature. He was featured on the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” for his involvement in creating a criminal justice reform bill after Steven Avery was exonerated for a 1985 crime. WisPolitics has reported that Gundrum will apply. He did not return a call for comment Thursday.

Justice Prosser Retiring

by | 1922, 27 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

This is unexpected.

Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, a conservative whose opinions helped solidify a series of controversial changes in state law in recent years but was also known for his physical confrontation with a colleague, announced Wednesday he would retire in July.

Prosser’s retirement comes after 18 years on the court and five years before his current 10-year term ends. Gov. Scott Walker will need to appoint a justice to replace Prosser, part of the court’s 5-2 right-leaning majority.

State law requires Walker’s appointee to serve until the next spring election that does not have a Supreme Court justice on the ballot, according to Walker spokesman Jack Jablonski, which is 2020.

Prosser is a good justice who served the people well for a very long time. Unfortunately, he has been unjustly maligned for the past several years. Wisconsin owes him a thank you for his service. He;s still young enough to have a long, happy retirement.

Finding Justice

by | 0701, 26 Apr 16 | , | 1 Comment

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

The city administrator for West Bend, T.J. Justice, has been arrested and charged with two felony counts — one for child enticement-prostitution and one for soliciting a child for prostitution. If convicted, Justice could spend the next 50 years in prison. Justice has posted bail and is on paid administrative leave from his city job until the Common Council decides what to do with him. At this point, there are more questions than answers, but the ramifications will be felt in our little city for some time to come.

According to the criminal complaint, Justice began texting with a teenage girl in May 2015. The texts were salacious, with Justice repeatedly and forcefully telling the girl that he wanted to have sex with her and was willing to pay her money for it.

In September 2015, the girl’s mother discovered the texts and responded to Justice saying, “no I’m 16, stop.” Justice responded with surprise at her age, but then appears to have continued aggressively soliciting the girl for sex with full knowledge that he was pursuing an underage girl. At one point he even allegedly texted, “your age is a turn on accept that and let’s figure this out babe.”

This February, the girl’s mother contacted the police about the situation. A Muskego police detective posed as the girl and contacted Justice to set up a meeting Thursday to have sex for $200. Justice showed up right on time with a bottle of Viagra in the car and was subsequently arrested. After first denying it, he confessed claiming that he would only have had sex with the girl if she consented — as if that ameliorates the fact that he was allegedly intending to pay an underage girl, who cannot legally consent, for sex.

Where do we go from here? As far as Justice is concerned, the criminal justice system will take care of him. It appears from the criminal complaint that the police did a superb job collecting evidence and the likelihood of conviction is high. Hopefully the next time we hear from Mr. Justice is in 50 years when the girl is collecting Social Security and our grandchildren are arguing over where to place a released nonagenarian sex offender.

As for the city of West Bend, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered and city leaders will need to find a replacement while caring for city employees reeling from the news. If the criminal complaint is true, it is clear Justice is a rotten human being and a predator. It is possible that he was a master manipulator and successfully concealed his rottenness from friends and coworkers. That has certainly happened in the past where horrible people manage to appear perfectly normal in polite society.

It is also possible that signs were overlooked, or worse, covered up. We already know that Justice lied on his application for city employment, saying that he had a college degree when he did not. At the time, the Common Council and mayor considered that fact against his record of achievement and decided to forgive that transgression. Since Justice has been a city employee, were there other transgressions? Were there complaints? If so, what happened? Are there more victims?

One thing that jumps out from the criminal complaint is how brazen Justice was. He used his own phone and name while openly soliciting a teenage girl he had never met. It was either incredibly stupid or incredibly arrogant. While it is possible that Justice was able to hide his hideous behavior, the shameless way in which he behaved in soliciting a child makes it difficult to believe that this was the first and only incident.

As I said, there a lot of questions and it has been less than a week since Justice was arrested. While we must push for answers, we must also be patient as people work through the legal and procedural issues. Since this is a personnel issue with the city, some information won’t be forthcoming for some time, which will be frustrating. And there will be those who oppose the current city leadership who will seek to use this for their own political advantage. We must be discerning in separating fact from fiction.

This incident also serves as another in a long line of reminders that parents must monitor their kids’ online behavior. It is not about trusting your kids. It is about not trusting people like Justice who may be preying on them.

West Bend City Administrator Charged with Felony Child Enticement-Prostitution

by | 1740, 22 Apr 16 | , | 22 Comments

Wow. This is pretty huge news for our little city. Via the Washington County Insider.

West Bend City Administrator T.J. Justice has been suspended with pay and is under investigation.

West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow said there is an ongoing criminal investigation being performed by law enforcement in Waukesha County.

The city of West Bend Police Department will also be performing its own investigation.

MORE UPDATES FROM WASHINGTON COUNTY INSIDER:

Records from Waukesha County Court show a pair of search warrants were issued on April 22.
COURT ORDERED A $5,000.00 CASH BOND IN ADDITION TO A $20,000.00 SIGNATURE BOND. Defendant to comply with I.D. Processing. Defendant to have no contact with V. d/o/b 2/26/99 or her mother K listed in the Criminal Complaint.

Defendant to not access the internet for any purpose other than for employment during normal work hours to access the internet. Defendant to have no contact with juvenile females under the age of 18 in person or by text. Defendant allowed non collect phone calls.

According to Waukesha County Court records Justice is charged with a pair of felony counts of soliciting a child for prostitution and Child Enticement-Prostitution.

CHANNEL 12 HAS ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Despite the information, Justice allegedly continued the pursuit, writing:

  • “The age thing doesn’t bother me as long as we stay honest with each other. I can offer some income here and there for you on the side.”
  • “We had a deal worked out once … I’m guessing you were 15 when we first chatted which is fine just be honest with things.”
  • “I’d love to explore the Sugar Daddy thing but it would HAVE to stay between us and I’d wanna talk to you by phone first.”
  • “We have sex… you get money and maybe shopping every once in a while or I pick you up jewelry here and there.”
  • “Your age is a turn on accept that and let’s figure this out babe.”

The teen’s mother ultimately turned over the phone to the Muskego Police Department. A detective there continued conversing with Justice, posing as “V.”

UPDATE: Washington County Insider has a copy of the criminal complaint.

Warning: graphic stuff ahead.

 

Argentina Enhances Penalties for Crimes Against Teachers

by | 2126, 20 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

I prefer the whole “everyone is equal under the law” standard.

Education minister Esteban Bullrich’s plan would add a 25% higher penalty if an offence was against a teacher.

Mr Bullrich said it would make sure the public showed them more “respect”.

If the law is adopted by Argentina’s congress it would mean any attack against a teacher would become an aggravated offence with increased penalties.

Cuban-American Truly an American Now

by | 0642, 18 Apr 16 | , , | 0 Comments

He has embraced America’s victimhood/lawsuit culture.

But Marty, who’s cruised so many times that he’s a Platinum VIP in the company’s rewards program, was shocked when a representative told him he couldn’t go on the inaugural trip because of where he was born: Cuba.

Now, as travelers get their bags ready for the first cruise to Cuba in more than 50 years, Marty is part of a new class-action lawsuit claiming that Carnival is discriminating against Cuban-Americans looking to travel to their homeland.

The lawsuit, filed by Marty and fellow traveler Amparo Sanchez, alleges that the company is violating federal civil rights laws and discriminating against Cubans by denying them tickets.

A spokesperson for Carnival responded to the lawsuit in a statement, writing, “This is not a decision by our Fathom brand, but rather a Cuba decision.”

The statement cites a Cold War-era Cuban law that does not allow Cuban-born individuals to enter the country by ships, only via plane.

Carnival said the company requested a change in the regulation and has been working with the Cuban government on the issue for months.

But for Marty, that isn’t enough.

Obama Weighs in on Active Case

by | 1505, 13 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

Again. That’s twice this week that the president has made his opinion known on issues that are currently being handled by his agencies in an “impartial” manner. It is inappropriate for The Boss to weigh in on these things when they are in process. It unduly influences the outcome – especially when the outcome is being determined by people appointed by said Boss.

But I digress. It’s a suit, and they have a right to sue. And the U.S. Soccer Federation, which they are suing, has a right to defend itself before the EEOC, a bipartisan, independent agency that is supposed to be beyond the influence of crass politicians like the president.

The same president who said Tuesday:

Equal pay for equal work should be a fundamental principle of our economy.  It’s the idea that whether you’re a high school teacher, a business executive, or a professional soccer player or tennis player, your work should be equally valued and rewarded, whether you are a man or a woman.

Uh oh. Just threw that soccer stuff in, I guess. Just like, for example.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest gets that there’s a problem, and so he was trying to spin away the president’s clear suggestion about how the EEOC should rule:

I think the point of the President’s remarks today was just to acknowledge the facts of that specific situation.  What sort of ruling is handed down by the EEOC is something that the commissioners there will have to conclude on their own.  I think the President is just sort of acknowledging the paid disparity that exists in a variety of professions, including when it comes to the best soccer players in the world.

Now that’s some good spinnin’. In reality, Obama’s point of view on the case is clear.

So, you’re on the EEOC. The EEOC, though independent and bipartisan, is appointed by the president. What do you think you should do now?

Appeals Court Could Approve Narrow Exceptions from Voter ID

by | 2005, 12 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

These are very narrow exceptions. It’s reasonable as long as the burden of proof that an exempted condition exists falls on the voter and not the state.

But the groups pressed the suit, saying that some people face special obstacles to obtain the ID they need to vote under the law.  The appeals panel on Tuesday told U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman to consider those arguments and to address ways for voting among certain groups:

  • Voters unable to obtain acceptable photo identification because of errors on birth certificates or other documentation.
  • Voters who need a credential from a government agency that won’t issue one until the state Department of Motor Vehicles first issues photo identification, which the DMV won’t do until the first credential has been obtained.
  • Voters who need a document that no longer exists, such as a birth certificate issued by an agency whose records have been lost in a fire.

The appeals panel also noted that in another state with voter ID, Indiana, voters “unable to obtain a com­plying photo ID for financial or religious reasons may file an affidavit to that effect” and have their vote counted on a provisional basis.

Johnny Koremonos, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice, said the ruling affirms the constitutionality of the voter ID law and affects only a “narrow” group of people: those who cannot obtain a free ID through the state Department of Transportation after “reasonable efforts.”

Dane Power

by | 0653, 12 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

My column for the West Bend Daily News is online. Here you go:

It has become so routine that it seems normal, but it is not — a Dane County judge has once again issued a daft ruling deeming a newly passed law to be unconstitutional. In an era when Democrats have been frustrated at the ballot box and relegated to the minority in the Legislature, they have turned to the court system to try to thwart the will of the people as expressed through their elected representatives.

The pattern has become predictable. The Republican Legislature and Republican governor enact a law they support. The liberal Democrats, unable to prevail in the Legislature, sue on the grounds that the law is unconstitutional. As the seat of state government, the first step in the legal process is in the Dane County Circuit Courts, where virtually every judge is liberal and rules that the law is unconstitutional. Then, after a lot of time and money is spent appealing the ruling, the Dane County judge’s ruling is overruled and the law stands. It happened with Act 10. It happened with Voter ID. And now it is happening with right-to-work.

Wisconsin’s right-to-work law was passed earlier this year, making Wisconsin the nation’s 25th state to pass such a law. The concept of right-to-work is simple and rooted in our natural right to freely associate with whom we please, or not. Under the previous law, people were forced to pay dues to a union, a private organization, as a consequence of working in a unionized shop. The people had to pay those dues even if they did not support or agree with the union. Wisconsin’s right-to-work law simply allows people to not belong to, or pay dues to, a union if they do not want to.

Of course, unions have been a bastion for the Democratic Party for decades and those dues are used to fund campaigns for Democrats, so right-to-work threatens the Democratic Party’s power structure — so the Democrats resorted to the courts.

Dane County Circuit Judge William Foust gave his fellow liberals the ruling they wanted. The ruling is so devoid of lucidity that it will definitely be overruled on appeal, but the rationale used is worth knowing as it reveals something of the liberal mindset. Foust’s reasoning is that since the right-to-work law allows employees to not pay union dues, it erodes the money given to the unions. And since the unions are obligated to negotiate on behalf of all employees even if they do not pay dues, the law violates the constitutional provision prohibiting the government from taking property without fair compensation.

Got that? In other words, by virtue of the fact that private organizations — the unions — choose to negotiate on behalf of workers, those workers must be forced to pay for that private organization. Never mind that it is not the government denying dues, it is free people choosing to not pay dues. Never mind that the unions do not have to negotiate for anyone if they do not want to. In Foust’s mind and in the minds of his fellow travelers, the money does not belong to the individual to do with what they choose. It belongs to the collective and the role of government is to force the individual to give it to the collective.

Thankfully there is little doubt that Foust’s ruling will be overruled, but this incessant cycle of irrational judicial challenge initiated by sore losers must be mitigated. Part of the problem is that Dane County is far more liberal than the rest of the state. This is a county where more than 100,000 people voted for avowed socialist Bernie Sanders last week. That’s almost 50 percent more votes than all of the Republican votes combined. It is a liberal county that elects liberal judges.

Republicans tried to reform this in 2011 when they passed a law allowing the plaintiffs in cases challenging state laws to choose venues other than Dane County, but that reform simply allows the plaintiffs to shop for a favorable venue. Liberals will sue in Dane County and conservatives will sue in Washington County.

Instead of allowing plaintiffs to choose a venue or having all lawsuits take place in Dane County, Wisconsin should enact a lottery system for lawsuits challenging state laws. There are 249 circuit court judges in Wisconsin who are elected by their respective county’s voters, each perfectly capable of adjudicating a lawsuit. The judges in Dane County do not have any special powers or abilities that make them superior to a judge in, say, Superior.

There will be some cost associated with such a system. Since the state government is in Madison, virtually all of the resources needed to defend such a lawsuit reside near the seat of government. There will be cost in transporting those resources to other counties to defend the state, but in an age of videoconferencing and telecommuting, those costs could be easily allayed if the court chooses.

Dane County circuit judges have had too much power in the function of state government for far too long. It is time to inject some judicial diversity into the process by allowing judges elected in other parts of the state to participate.

Navy Officer Charged with Espionage

by | 1601, 11 Apr 16 | , , | 0 Comments

It’s nice to see that our nation is still willing to prosecute people who share national secrets with foreigners.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told AFP the sailor is Lieutenant Commander Edward Chieh-Liang Lin, who has been in the Navy since 1999 and has won several awards including two Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medals.

The Navy declined to confirm his identity, but provided a heavily redacted copy of a charge sheet that outlined four charges against an officer of Lin’s rank.

According to that document, the suspect communicated “secret information relating to the national defense to representatives of a foreign government.”

The US official said Lin is accused of handing secret information over to China and Taiwan, adding it was possible the investigation could also uncover ties to other countries.

[…]

The United States also suspects Beijing is conducting cyber attacks on US interests and passing this information to the private sector for commercial gain.

“Majoritarian Exercise”

by | 1029, 9 Apr 16 | , | 0 Comments

Yes, we have learned how the Left defines “bipartisanship.”

But even if we look past Obama’s hypocrisy, his prediction of doom rings hollow. When he says that the refusal of conservatives to confirm a liberal judge may reduce the nomination process to being, “just a majoritarian exercise in the Senate of who controls the presidency and who controls the Senate,” we are forced to ask what is so bad about that? Moreover, what is the alternative that he is proposing that will enable us to transcend partisanship?

The alternative to that “majoritarian exercise” that he offers the GOP is simple: surrender. Republicans are told that they must allow a shaky 5-4 conservative majority in which a swing vote cast by an unpredictable Justice Anthony Kennedy determines close cases to become a solid 5-4 liberal majority enabled by Garland’s confirmation. They must do so, Obama says, because it is good for democracy for us to transcend partisanship. But in order for that argument to work, then both sides must do so.

Democrats Sue Over Redistricting

by | 0943, 9 Apr 16 | , | 19 Comments

And in another case of liberals suing over Republican legislation.

A Democratic suit filed in federal court to repeal the Republican re-districting of the Wisconsin Assembly is set for trial May 24, with hearings judges say should last no longer than four days.

A three-judge panel this week rejected the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the suit. The plaintiffs (Democrats) in the case will have to prove that Republicans acted with discriminatory intent when they drew the maps. The judges on the panel are Kenneth Ripple, Barbara Crabb and William Griesbach.

Democrats filed the suit in July, calling the new redistricting map unconstitutional and “one of the worse partisan gerrymanders in modern American history.”

They are asking the court to strike down the maps and draw new ones.

Bear in mind that redistricting has been done for half a decade now. We have had several elections with the new maps already. And they will be redrawn again in five years after the 2020 census. Yet here we are… in court again because the Democrats feel aggrieved. Perhaps they should focus their energies on actually winning elections so that they can be at the helm when the districts are redrawn next time.

Dane County Judge Strikes Down Right to Work Law

by | 0936, 9 Apr 16 | , | 2 Comments

I almost laughed when I read this. This ruling won’t withstand appeal.

A Dane County judge has struck down the state’s right-to-work law, ruling unions have property rights to collect fees for the services they provide to union members and nonmembers alike.

Judge William Foust issued the 15-page ruling on Friday, about a year after the law took effect.

The law prohibits unions and employers from entering agreements that require all employees to pay fees to a union, either in the form of membership dues or “fair-share” payments for those who opt out of joining a union but are still represented by it.

A group of private-sector unions sued the state, arguing state and federal law require unions to provide collective bargaining services to all employees in a represented workplace, regardless of whether they pay union dues. That made the state’s right-to-work law an illegal “taking” of their services, they argued.

There are two somewhat interesting things of note. First, we see again what has become the MO for Republican legislation in Wisconsin. After being duly passed into law, the liberals sue, a Dane County judge calls the law unconstitutional, and the judicial process proceeds until the law is eventually allowed to stand. We saw it with Act 10, Voter ID, etc. It is tiresome that liberals in this state can’t respect the will of the people as expressed through their duly elected representatives in the legislative and executive branches of government.

Second, try to understand the rationale of the lawsuit. They are claiming that since the union has to represent all employees, the fact that some employees can opt out of the union is a violation of the constitutional provision prohibiting government from taking money or property without just compensation. So in their minds, if a private organization (union) chooses to provide a service for a person without permission, then that person must pay the private organization for those services or it violates the constitution.

Of course, this line of legal theory has been advanced before in other states where Right to Work has been enacted, and failed the miserable legal death it deserves. But it does illustrate the liberal mindset that the individual’s money and property is theirs first and the individual get to keep whatever is left over.

New Berlin Teacher Charged For Sex With Student

by | 0912, 9 Apr 16 | , , | 0 Comments

Once again, this seems to be a growing problem.

WAUKESHA — A former New Berlin West High School English teacher is free on bond today after she was charged Friday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with two felonies for allegedly having sex with a student.

Sara Domres, 28, of Sullivan, was charged Friday with two counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff. She faces up to six years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted on each count.

She was freed after posting $1,000 cash bail, which came with the conditions that she avoid the student, the school, its staff members and students. She is due in court again May 4.

According to the criminal complaint in the case, the male student told police that in the 2014-15 school year, when he was a 16-yearold sophomore, he was in Domres’ English class when they worked up a friendship and exchanged text messages. In mid-July of last year, after the school semester had ended, he and Domres were on a date and had sexual intercourse in the back seat of her car in a parkand- ride lot on Moorland Road, the complaint said.

During the current school year, while a junior at the school, the boy said he and Domres had sex at a Motel 6 in the Town of Brookfield in about October, after the boy had turned 17, the complaint said. The boy’s phone was connected to the hotel’s Wi-Fi network Oct. 23, the complaint said.

I get why the kid is so stupid, but on what planet would a teacher – one who is presumably at least 22 years old, graduated from college, and was told multiple times to not have sex with kids – do this? She’s an adult and she throws away her life because she can’t control her lust for a kid?

Hillary Clinton Weighs in on Wisconsin Supreme Court Election

by | 2145, 2 Apr 16 | , , | 54 Comments

Ha!

Clinton said she was joining her voice to others who were saying “no to discrimination, no to hate speech and no to Bradley.” She said there was “no place at all” on any court for Bradley’s “dangerous rhetoric.”

I had a couple of thoughts when reading this…

First, there’s no way that Clinton knew anything about Bradley or Kloppenburg – much less cared about either of them – until she needed votes in Wisconsin. This has all of the marks of a deal whereby some state Dems promised to push for her if she would help out on the Supreme Court election. If only Bradley were a man, it would have helped Clinton pimp her “war on women” meme.

Second, Kloppenburg’s big faux claim for months has been that she’s “independent” despite her long-standing ties to Democrats and liberal interests. Having the Democratic presidential front-runner advocate for her drops any pretense of independence. I think it’s fine for judges running for office to have opinions and associations with fellow travelers – nobody is a blank slate and we certainly wouldn’t want to elect anyone who is – but they should be honest about them.

Cruz Supports National Right to Work Law

by | 1701, 31 Mar 16 | , , | 0 Comments

I like him even more now.

MADISON, Wis. – Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he supports a national law prohibiting private-sector unions from requiring workers to join or pay dues, similar to one in Wisconsin.

Cruz said in an interview Thursday on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee that such “right to work” laws are a fundamental right. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a “right to work” law into place last year. Walker has endorsed Cruz and plans to campaign with him across Wisconsin before Tuesday’s primary.

Keeping in mind that I don’t think that forced unionization is constitutional anyway. It’s a violation of our civil right to freely associate – or not associate. But given the Supreme Court’s refusal to affirm that civil right, a law would be the easiest path to restoring our rights.

Killer Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

by | 0850, 31 Mar 16 | , | 2 Comments

I’m having a hard time comprehending why the judge would give this thug anything less than the maximum penalty.

Kenosha— Former West Allis police officer Steven Zelich was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday for killing an Oregon woman during a sexual encounter and hiding her body first in his apartment and then in a suitcase that he tossed on the side of a Walworth County highway.

“It’s a crime that is almost beyond comprehension, that this great indignity would be visited upon this person,” Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce Schroeder said.

Zelich, 54, faced a maximum prison sentence of 50 years after he pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless homicide and hiding a corpse in the 2012 death of Jenny Gamez, 19, of Cottage Grove, Ore.

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