WJI's Daily Reads for Feb. 23, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos opposes bipartisan bill to close Lincoln Hills.

(Assembly Speaker Robin) Vos blamed Evers for the state's failure to close Lincoln Hills, even though lawmakers have never approved the necessary funding to do so. 

ProPublica: Mom who lost custody of children in Waukesha County Circuit Court wins appeal and gets new judge.

Appellate reversals in these kinds of cases are unusual, in part because of the time and money it takes to pursue them. (Julie) Valadez’s case provides a window into the largely unexplored world of family court, the appeals process and the problems encountered by women who say they’ve been victims of domestic abuse.

Slate: U.S. Supreme Court tees up assault on civil rights.

Now the court will answer the question left open in Masterpiece Cakeshop: Whether the government can require businesses to make “art” for same-sex weddings. The new case, 303 Creative v. Elenis, involves a Colorado graphic designer named Lorie Smith who refuses to create websites for same-sex couples. Off the bat, it’s important to note that Smith has not been asked to make a wedding website for a same-sex couple; indeed, she does not yet make wedding websites at all. (Her portfolio focuses on churches and Republican politicians.) But she plans to make such websites in the future—and when she does, she intends to turn away potential same-sex customers....

But, again, the question presented is not limited to the application of these laws to same-sex couples. If ADF prevails, businesses may secure a right to discriminate against anyone as long as their work involves speech. A racist photographer could refuse to shoot an interracial wedding. An antisemitic florist could refuse to provide flowers to a Bat Mitzvah. A hairdresser could refuse to serve Black people. A chef could refuse to cater a quinceañera. The list goes on; every commercial transaction involves expression, and every civil rights law is enforced through compelled speech. If a business’ First Amendment rights outweigh the government’s interest in ending discrimination, few non-discrimination laws will be safe from constitutional attack.

The best case scenario in 303 Creative is likely that the majority gerrymanders its decision to legalize discrimination against gay people only. The worst-case scenario—and the more probable one—is that the majority incinerates precedent upholding non-discrimination protections and establishes a new regime that subjects civil rights enforcement to strict First Amendment scrutiny. On its face, this case is a culture war clash over the scope of gay rights. But just beneath the surface lies a poisonous presumption about the supremacy of speech over equality that may destroy the government’s authority to keep the marketplace open to all.

KSL NewsRadio: Federal hate crime convictions for me who killed Ahmaud Arbery.

The Hill: Federal court ruling impedes Biden administration climate actions.

Dozens of federal actions dealing with everything from energy efficiency standards to funding for transit projects have been upended by a recent court ruling against the Biden administration's climate change calculations. 

The administration said in a court filing this weekend that nearly 40 agency rules will have to be postponed or reworked after a federal court restricted its ability to measure their climate impacts.