WJI's Daily Reads for Mar. 2, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Supreme Court hears argument on whether sex-trafficking law provides defense to homicide.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee City Attorney fires assistant city attorney who appeared on Russia Today TV.

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service: County delays providing free calls to those in custody.

This move, proponents of the free calls say, is prolonging an undue burden for families already struggling financially. And the action has, they say, the earmarks of balancing the county budget on the backs of those least able to afford it.

Wisconsin Examiner: Former Justice Michael Gableman presents report calling for elimination of Wisconsin Elections Commission and decertification of the 2020 election.

In three and a half hours of conspiracy-laden testimony that included downplaying the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, recorded interviews with sleeping senior citizens and attacks on a number of election officials and organizations, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman presented the “second interim report” of his partisan review of the 2020 presidential election on Tuesday to the Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections. . . .

Rep. Lisa Subeck (D-Madison) asked Gableman about his connections to Republicans, his previous statements that he believes the election was stolen and if he would eventually release all the documents that have been created as he’s conducted his review, to which Gableman responded by accusing Subeck of impugning his honor. . . .

“I want to be judged, not on the fact that [Former Republican Gov.] Tommy Thompson appointed me [as a district attorney], even though I was an independent at that time, not a Republican or Democrat. I want to be judged on the quality of my work. And in order to do that, I have to show people what I relied on. If there’s a disconnect, well, then I have no credibility. And then this whole exercise has been pointless. Do I look or sound to you like a man who wants to do a pointless or illegitimate exercise?” 

Slate: Fifth Circuit decision allows district judge to direct deployment of unvaccinated Navy SEALS.

On Monday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stunning decision transferring control over the Navy’s special operations forces from the commander-in-chief to a single federal judge in Texas. The 5th Circuit’s decision marks an astonishing infringement of President Joe Biden’s constitutional authority over the nation’s armed forces, directing him to follow the instructions of an unelected judge—rather than his own admirals—in deploying SEALs. High-ranking military personnel have testified under oath that this power grab constitutes a direct threat to the Navy’s operational abilities. As Russia invades Ukraine and declares a nuclear alert, Donald Trump’s judges are actively threatening America’s national security.

Marijuana Moment: Coalition of rights groups push for House of Representatives vote on marijuana legalization.

Intelligencer: An in-depth look at New York Attorney General Letitia James and her high-profile investigations of Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump.