WJI's Daily Reads for May 26, 2022

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz announces candidacy for state supreme court.

CNN: Marquette Law poll shows fast drop in Supreme Court's approval rating following leaked draft.

The Marquette Law School poll findings represent a dramatic change from how Americans viewed the court in March, the last time the survey was conducted. Then, 54% of respondents said they approved of the nine justices and 45% said they disapproved. Now, only 44% approve.

Taken a week after the nation learned of a draft opinion authored by conservative Justice Samuel Alito that showed the high court was poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationwide, the survey underscores the deep opposition to the possible move. 

Slate: How the U.S. Senate and federal judiciary are enabling mass shootings.

Think about the justices, already shielded from actual danger by taxpayer-funded security, and ask yourself why they swiftly and without drama received extra protection from picketers this past month. The immiseration of women and children that comes at the end of this Supreme Court term—not just from reproductive health and gun rulings, but from the gutting of environmental protections and public health measures—should not surprise us, even if it shocks our consciences. Nor should the failure of the Senate to do a single thing to prevent the next Sandy Hook, or the next Buffalo, or the next Uvalde.

Above the Law: What if the Supreme Court's gun opinion leaked right now?

Despite knowing exactly how this is going to turn out, the Supreme Court is likely to sit on this opinion now. We could have seen it as early as Tuesday, but the conservative majority that brands itself as “just calling balls and strikes” is sufficiently cowardly that it won’t risk declaring a concealed carry free-for-all one week after a school massacre.

Which is why, if we’re going to start leaking opinions anyway, this would be a good time to send this one out. Because I think we’d all be interested in hearing the Court’s take on this right now rather than a month from now when the nation has moved on to another shiny object distraction. Reading the Court explain just how “weak” they feel a state’s interest in curbing violence is would provide a genuine service to the country that depends on the institution’s credibility.

Reuters: President Joe Biden nominates three women to federal appellate courts, including the Seventh Circuit.

(Doris) Pryor, a former prosecutor and public defender who is Black, would be the first judge of color on the 7th Circuit from Indiana.

POGO: Protecting yourself from surveillance while receiving reproductive health care.