WJI's Daily Reads for Feb. 17, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Michael Gableman withdraws election investigation subpoenas issued to Voces de la Frontera.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission members support proposal to combat reckless driving.

The proposed procedure would allow police to tow unregistered vehicles that have also engaged in at least one of four infractions: reckless driving, speeding, fleeing police or racing. It instructs police to tow those cars during a traffic stop or otherwise whenever an officer “comes into contact” with a vehicle involved in a crash investigation.

Courthouse News Service: U.S. Supreme Court justices say one thing but do another.

“In their public statements, the justices are seeking to preserve the integrity of the Court, claiming it is neutral and apolitical, and simply follows the law,” Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown Law, said in an email. “The justices have also used the shadow docket in ways that diverge from historic practices on the Court. In other words, the justices are saying one thing, but doing something nearly opposite. The justices have been hyper-partisan and cavalierly ignoring settled precedent.” 

Kansas City Star: U.S. Department of Justice sues Missouri over gun laws.

(The law), which Gov. Mike Parson signed last June, declares “invalid” many federal gun regulations that don’t have an equivalent in Missouri law. These include statutes covering weapons registration and tracking, and possession of firearms by some domestic violence offenders.

State and local police are prohibited under the act from helping federal agents enforce any of the “invalid” laws, or from hiring former federal agents who had enforced them. Police departments are subject to $50,000 lawsuits from private citizens who believe their Second Amendment rights were violated.

NPR: Georgetown Law Center institute pushing for limits on federal use of life-without-parole sentences for juveniles.

The Justice Department should reconsider how it punishes juveniles accused of homicide, a coalition of former federal, state and local prosecutors wrote in a letter released on Thursday that urged limiting the use of sentences of life without parole.

The group wants Attorney General Merrick Garland to agree to seek life without parole sentences only in the rarest of cases, where juveniles are "incapable of change." In all other instances, it said, federal prosecutors should ask for no more than 30 years in prison.

The Hill: Democrats calling for President Biden to address unfair and inhumane treatment of Black migrants.

Reuters: Jurors in Sarah Palin defamation case received news notifications that judge would dismiss case.