WJI's daily reads for Sept. 14, 2021

Verdict: Would overruling of Roe v. Wade revive abortion zombie laws?

But what happens if the Supreme Court changes its mind and overrules a line of cases that had earlier been used to invalidate some set of laws? In a 1993 article in the Columbia Law Review, (current Georgetown Law Center Dean) Bill Treanor and (current Senior Advisor to President Biden) Gene Sperling argued that previously invalidated laws should not necessarily be revived. Ordinarily, we can interpret a legislature’s failure to repeal a law as reflecting contemporary agreement with or at least acquiescence in the old law. However, Treanor and Sperling argued, a court ruling deeming a law unenforceable can sap the political strength of a repeal movement. Thus, a judicially invalidated law that remains on the books lacks the democratic pedigree enjoyed by other unrepealed laws.

The argument that Treanor and Sperling offered against automatic revival was subtle and careful. Yet their view has never been the conventional wisdom. Instead, there is good reason to think that if the Supreme Court overrules or substantially weakens the abortion right in the case from Mississippi currently on its docket, states with restrictive abortion laws that were previously invalidated will succeed in reviving and enforcing those laws.

Marijuana Moment: Mayors push President Biden and Congress for federal marijuana legalization.

The Trace: Four under-the-radar cases that could reshape U.S. gun laws.

Politico: Biden begins clemency process for some released from federal prisons due to Covid.

Those who have been asked for the applications fall into a specific category: drug offenders released to home under the pandemic relief bill known as the CARES Act with four years or less on their sentences. Neither the White House nor the Department of Justice clarified how many individuals have been asked for commutation applications or whether it would be expanding the universe of those it reached out to beyond that subset. But it did confirm that the president was beginning to take action.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Department of Corrections weighs closing Milwaukee's Felmers O. Chaney Correctional Center to accommodate new juvenile prison.

More links and stories on our Facebook page!