WJI's Daily Reads for June 29, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin governor and attorney general sue to block 1849 abortion law.

"The reality is that if the (19th) century abortion ban remains in effect, sexual assault victims in Wisconsin will be required under Wisconsin law to carry the rapist's baby to term without medical intervention. That is not a free society," (Attorney General Josh) Kaul said. . . .

(Assembly Speaker Robin Vos responded:) "Abortion isn't health care and for the governor and attorney general to try and use the courts to enact law is just wrong as the original Roe v Wade decision over 50 years ago. I'm confident our courts will see through their tactics and uphold the law."

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court expands review of involuntary commitments.

According to one analysis, Wisconsin commits more people for involuntary mental treatment per capita than any other state — more than 43 per 1,000 people with a serious mental illness. The average was around nine per 1,000 seriously ill people.

Madison.com: Michael Gableman sued once again over public records access.

The lawsuit, filed in Dane County Circuit Court, points to comments Gableman made in recent testimony that he has deleted emails from his government email account. Gableman also said last week he had a staffer delete the personal email account he used in the early months of his review last year, making those records inaccessible.

Reuters: U.S. Supreme Court reinstates Louisiana's Republican-drawn maps.

The Washington Post: U.S. Supreme Court sends abortion rules to states after restricting minority voting rights.

It is not a coincidence that the court is making our democracy less democratic at the very moment it is returning the issue of abortion to the political process (in the name of democracy).

After all, the Supreme Court that overruled Roe is itself the product of minority rule. Justices Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett were all confirmed by senators who collectively represented fewer people than the senators who voted against them. Those three justices, moreover, were appointed by a president who received fewer total votes than the opposing Democratic candidate.

Slate: Why states can't bar residents from interstate travel to seek abortions elsewhere.

Cannabis Business Times: United Nations report on worldwide marijuana use and impacts of legalization.

Vox: Abysmal health care inside jails and prisons during the pandemic.

When 25-year-old Clayton McCray was sent to jail in September 2019, he had no idea the detention would end up costing him his leg. But that’s what happened, in large part because the pandemic exacerbated his poor medical treatment behind bars.