WJI's Daily Reads for June 28, 2022

Wispolitics.com: Wisconsin Supreme Court appoints or reappoints five chief judges.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Parent complaints over books in Oconomowoc school district leads to possible defamation claim.

The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has sent a letter to the Oconomowoc Area School District on behalf of a local parent who said the district is trying to silence her for complaints about the district's use of what she called age-inappropriate instructional materials. . . .

In a May 13 letter, attorneys representing the district, Mark Olson and Emily Turzinski, said statements (Alexandra) Schweitzer made during testimony at a state Senate on Education Committee meeting, and in a letter regarding the district's curriculum and library materials, were false and defamatory. 

ABC News: U.S. Supreme Court rules in favor of man seeking resentencing under First Step Act.

The justices ruled 5-4 that trial judges who are asked to resentence inmates may look at a wide range of factors, including some that have nothing to do with crack cocaine offenses that had produced longer stints in prison, disproportionately for people of color.

The high court settled a disagreement among the nation's appellate courts over what judges should do in these cases.

E&E News: Language in abortion ruling about standing may impact future climate cases.

The ominous sign for environmentalists in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization comes 63 pages into the 79-page opinion as Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, argues that earlier abortion cases have “diluted” the law and “ignored the court’s third-party standing doctrine” — which generally requires parties before the court to have some proof of injury (Greenwire, June 24).

Environmentalists have worried the court would use the standing doctrine to determine who can be heard. Alito took a narrow approach to standing when he was a federal appeals court judge, and his reference to the provision in a draft copy of Dobbs that was obtained last month by POLITICO set off alarms (Climatewire, May 6).

Marijuana Moment: Drug czar recognizes possible medical benefits of marijuana.

One particularly notable exchange came in response to a question from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who pressed the official on the seeming “contradiction” that marijuana remains a federally banned substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) despite growing evidence that the plant’s constituents can treat chronic pain in a way that is safer than opioids that are less strictly regulated.

“There is evidence to suggest that, in cases of certain chronic pain, cannabis can be efficacious,” (Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul) Gupta, who previously provided consulting services to a cannabis company prior to serving in the White House, said.