WJI's Daily Reads for Feb. 11, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal protection restored for gray wolves.

U.S. News & World Report: Trump voter who claimed election fraud is charged with election fraud.

A supporter of former President Donald Trump who said authorities should root out voter fraud is among five people who were charged Thursday with election fraud by a Republican district attorney who's running for Wisconsin attorney general.

All five voters, including a homeless person, improperly listed a post office box number at a UPS store as their address, rather than a residential address as is required under Wisconsin law, said Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney.

Wisconsin Law Journal (AP report): Seeking professional diversity for the U.S. Supreme Court nominee.

Although three of the current justices have experience as prosecutors, none was a criminal defense attorney. The last justice with serious experience in defense was Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights attorney nominated about 55 years ago. He was the first Black person on the court and retired in 1991.

The New York Times: Congress passes bill to bar forced arbitration in workplace sexual assault and harassment cases.

Congress approved bipartisan legislation on Thursday barring the use of forced arbitration to address sexual assault and harassment claims in the workplace, sending President Biden a measure aimed at ending a secretive practice often used to shield perpetrators from full and public accountability.

The Senate passed the measure by a voice vote, clearing the bill three days after it had been approved overwhelmingly by the House. It could prompt a sea change in the way that businesses handle allegations of sexual abuse, and it was hailed by employment lawyers as one of the most significant changes to labor law in decades. The White House has indicated that Mr. Biden will sign it.

Thompson Reuters Foundation: Rights groups want to rein in use of artificial intelligence to monitor prison calls.

Documents from eight states showed prison and jail authorities were using surveillance software called Verus, which scans for key words and leverages Amazon's voice-to-text transcription service, to monitor prisoners' phone calls.

California-based LEO Technologies, which operates Verus, says it has scanned close to 300 million minutes of calls going in and out of prisons and jails in the United States, describing the tool as a way to fight crime and help keep inmates safe.

But a coalition of civil and digital rights groups said the surveillance sometimes overstepped legal limits by targeting conversations unrelated to the safety and security of detention facilities, or possible criminal activity.