The Wisconsin Supreme Court appears to have concluded its 2023-24 regular term. The court typically finishes an annual term by releasing a series of decisions in June and July. According to one Wisconsin historian, the court issued the fewest decisions during this one-year term since at least 1900. Undoubtedly the most high-profile decision issued by […]
SCOWIS Finishes 2023-24 Term with High-Profile Cases, Record Low Number of Decisions Overall
Date Mon, Jul. 22, 2024 - 2:20pm By Hamilton
Sojenhomer LLC v. Village of Egg Harbor (Eminent Domain)
Date Mon, Jul. 22, 2024 - 2:12pm By Hamilton
In Sojenhomer LLC v. Village of Egg Harbor (2024 WI 25), the court held that municipalities can use condemnation authority to acquire land to build a sidewalk within a road right-of-way, despite recently enacted statutory prohibitions on the use of condemnation to establish or extend a pedestrian way. Facts The Village of Egg Harbor developed […]
Evers v. Marklein (Separation of Powers)
Date Mon, Jul. 22, 2024 - 2:10pm By Hamilton
In Evers v. Marklein (2024 WI 31), the court held that oversight power exercised by a legislative committee over decisions made by a state agency to use already-appropriated funds violated the separation of powers established by the Wisconsin Constitution. This decision may have significant implications for Wisconsin politics and policy. While the immediate effect of […]
Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission (Absentee Ballot Drop Boxes)
Date Mon, Jul. 22, 2024 - 2:09pm By Hamilton
In Priorities USA v. Wisconsin Elections Commission (2023 WI 32), the court held that state law permits municipal clerks and local election officials to provide unattended drop boxes for voters to return their absentee ballots, overruling a 2022 decision that reached the opposite conclusion. Facts Priorities USA (a progressive political group), the Wisconsin Alliance for […]
Supreme Court Hears Arguments on JCF Oversight of Stewardship Program
Date Tue, Apr. 30, 2024 - 12:09pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is considering a legal challenge from Gov. Tony Evers (D) to the Wisconsin Legislature’s committee oversight power over the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program. Oral arguments before the court were held April 17; news coverage is available here, here, and here. Specifically, the lawsuit from Gov. Evers alleges that a provision giving the […]
Gov. Evers Signs New Legislative Maps Into Law
Date Mon, Feb. 26, 2024 - 9:14am By Hamilton
On February 19, Gov. Evers (D) signed into law his own redistricting proposal (now 2023 Wisconsin Act 94) after the Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature adopted it. See the governor’s press release and prepared remarks on the bill signing and several news articles. Late last year, the liberal majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court held that the […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Finds State Legislative Maps Unconstitutional, Orders New Maps for 2024
Date Wed, Jan. 3, 2024 - 1:24pm By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that the state legislative maps adopted by the same court in April 2022 are unconstitutional. The court issued a decision in Clarke v. WEC on December 22, 2023. The justices of the court voted 4-3 along ideological lines to find that the current maps are unconstitutional and to order […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court Accepts Redistricting Case; Protasiewicz Will Not Recuse
Date Tue, Oct. 24, 2023 - 11:13am By Hamilton
The Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted a lawsuit challenging the legality of Wisconsin’s state legislative maps. As we covered here, two petitions for original action were filed in August, each asking the supreme court to bypass the typical trial and appellate court process and rule that Wisconsin’s current state legislative maps are unconstitutional. On October […]
Fall 2023 Floor Period: Taxes, Child Care, and Redistricting Emerge as Key Issues
Date Wed, Sep. 27, 2023 - 9:43am By Hamilton
Between the Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers (D), both sides were dissatisfied with aspects of the 2023-25 state budget and are seeking legislation to address those issues. After a quiet summer following passage of the budget, legislators resumed regular committee and floor activities in early September. The Assembly and Senate are each expected […]
Protasiewicz Joins Wisconsin Supreme Court as New Majority Asserts Control; Redistricting Lawsuits Filed
Date Thu, Aug. 17, 2023 - 10:20am By Hamilton
Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in as a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on August 1, replacing Justice Patience Roggensack, who did not seek reelection after serving two ten-year terms, including a stint as chief justice from 2015 to 2021. Justice Protasiewicz, previously a judge in Milwaukee County, defeated former Justice Dan Kelly in the […]