WJI's Daily Reads for April 28, 2022

Barron News-Shield: State Bar of Wisconsin names Barron County Circuit Judge James Babler as judge of the year.

U.S. News & World Report: Congress passes greater financial disclosure obligations for federal judges.

Jacobin: Opinion calling for serious look at the U.S. Supreme Court's legitimacy in light of Justice Thomas' ethics problems.

While the Thomases flouted judicial norms and interbranch relations to build and sustain an unprecedented husband-and-wife conservative-judicial-political network, Democratic lawmakers are still citing the very norms (“separation of power issues”) the Thomases ignored.

A better strategy would be to openly challenge the power of the Supreme Court: if the connections between Ginni, Clarence, conservative legal networks, and the Court make one thing clear, it’s that the Right firmly grasps the connection between politics and the law. We should too. But instead of a Supreme Court that upholds the privileges of the rich and powerful, we need a Court that defers to the power of the people.

Courthouse News Service: At Senate committee hearing federal-court nominee Nancy Abudu faces criticism of her work at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas argued that the Southern Poverty Law Center was responsible for a 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council. Conservative groups at the time of the shooting connected the crime to the civil rights organization’s decision to call the council a hate group, although the center condemned the attack which was carried out by a gunman not associated with the center.

“The Southern Poverty Law Center is a hateful and extreme place and their hate, among other things, has led to horrific violence,” Cruz said, referencing the attack. “You went to work for them knowing that their hate had led to this violence?”

“I went to work for the SPLC to help lead its voting rights practice group,” Abudu replied.

CNN: Judge finds that Trump Organization appraiser was not consistent about quality control practices.

Axios: Minnesota probe finds pattern of racial discrimination by Minneapolis police.

Details:​ The probe found significant differences in how MPD officers treat people of color and white individuals in similar situations.

• Officers were more likely to stop, cite, arrest and use more severe force against Black individuals, the report states.
• The report also highlights social media surveillance of Black individuals and organizations that it deemed were "unrelated to criminal activity" and what investigators called "consistent use of racist, misogynistic, and disrespectful language" by officers.​