Wisconsin
Wisconsin Supreme Court takes up Evers lawsuit against Legislature over blocked UW pay raises, conservation projects
A lawsuit filed by Gov. Tony Evers against Republican lawmakers who blocked pay raises for university employees and funding for conservation projects has been accepted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
An order granting Evers’ request that the court take up the lawsuit was issued by the court’s liberal justices in a 4-3 decision Friday afternoon. The governor sued Republican leaders in the state Assembly and Senate in October because committees they chair withheld money that was contained in the state budget, which passed in July with bipartisan support.
Evers argued the leaders, through their committees, were “unconstitutionally and unlawfully obstructing basic government functions” by blocking money that was already approved.
The money was slated to go toward cost-of-living raises to around 34,000 employees at the Universities of Wisconsin and conservation projects via the state’s Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program.
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The pay raises were scheduled to go into effect July 1, but were held up by state Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Employee Relations. Vos vowed to withhold the money until state universities eliminated diversity, equity and inclusion staff and programs, known as DEI.
A compromise was struck between Vos and the UW System Board of Regents. Under the deal, lawmakers agreed to release around $800 million for the raises and approve building projects, including a UW-Madison engineering building rejected by Republicans earlier that year.
Evers’ lawsuit also took issue with other committee votes.
In April, the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee blocked $4 million in the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program fund from going toward the purchase of 70,000 acres east of Rhinelander to conserve the Pelican River Forest in northern Wisconsin. In late January, Evers secured $4 million in federal grant funding to support the Pelican River project, which allowed it to move forward despite Republican objections.
The court’s liberal majority agreed to immediately take up Evers’ claim that the committee blockades amounted to “legislative vetoes” violate the the separation of powers in the Wisconsin Constitution by allowing the legislative branch to alter “the scope of the executive branch’s discretion.”
The majority held off on taking up two other claims raised by Evers’ lawsuit, with the caveat they could decide those at a later date.
In a statement issued after the court’s announcement, state Attorney General Josh Kaul called the state Constitution’s separation of powers principle “foundational to our system of government.”
“That principle, which guards against the concentration of governmental power, is inconsistent with permitting legislative committees to exercise a veto over executive branch actions like DNR’s awarding of funds for conservation projects,” Kaul said. “We look forward to working to vindicate that principle before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”
The court’s conservatives dissented, accusing their liberal colleagues of practicing politics from the bench.
Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley wrote that the “new majority has destroyed the integrity of the Wisconsin Supreme Court to advance its partisan agenda.”
“When the majority’s political allies say jump, the new majority responds: ‘How high?’” she wrote.
Bradley said the Joint Finance Committee “has reviewed gubernatorial appropriations under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for more than 15 years.”
“The Governor suddenly asserts this legislative oversight of appropriations under the Program violates the separation of powers doctrine and urgently warrants this court invoking its original jurisdiction,” Bradley said. “The timing is no coincidence; the Governor knows he has a friendly foursome standing by to do his bidding.”
In a separate dissent, conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn said Evers’ lawsuit “raises substantial questions about the proper roles of the executive and legislative branches” under the state constitution.
“A decision in this case could occasion a historic shift—both in the operation of state government, and in how this court interprets the boundary lines between the branches of government,” Hagedorn said.
He said courts should exercise “judicial humility” and play a “modest role” in the constitutional order. Hagedorn said the Supreme Court taking the case before it goes through lower courts doesn’t allow it to “mature through the normal process.”
“The court today … does not see the prudence of patience and humility,” Hagedorn said. “Instead, it charges onward, intent on deciding this case before the term’s end.”
The order from the court’s majority gives parties in the lawsuit, which now include the Legislature and six Republican committee chairs, 20 days to file legal briefs. Oral arguments have been scheduled for April 17.
Editors note: Wisconsin Public Radio staff are employees of University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wisconsin Public Radio, © Copyright 2024, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Educational Communications Board.
Wisconsin
Rubber bullet carnage as 1,000 animal welfare activists storm beagle breeding lab in Wisconsin | Fortune
About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett, said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
“I just feel defeated,” activist Julie Vrzeski told the newspaper about three hours into the operation after no dogs had been successfully seized.
Activists later moved from the Ridglan facility to protest outside the jail in downtown Madison.
The group Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs had publicized plans to seize the dogs Sunday but launched its operation a day earlier. The X account of the group’s leader, Wayne Hsiung, posted a picture of him being arrested.
The sheriff’s department said a person who “recklessly” drove a pickup through the front gate of the property was arrested, “preventing a potentially deadly outcome.”
Protesters broke into the facility in March and took 30 dogs. Twenty-seven people were arrested on trespassing and other charges.
Ridglan has denied mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 as part of a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
On its website it says “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
Wisconsin
Wisconsin authorities put total arrests from clashes at beagle breeding facility at about 25
MADISON (AP) — Around 25 protesters were arrested as around 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to gain entry to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin and were met by officers firing pepper spray and rubber bullets, authorities said Sunday.
Saturday’s protest was the second attempt in as many months by demonstrators to take beagles from Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison. They were turned back by officers who arrested the group’s leader.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said the situation was “significantly calmer and more peaceful” on Sunday, when around 200 people assembled outside the farm. They dispersed after around two hours, it said.
“We’re pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while still sending their message of concern for the dogs at Ridglan Farms,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a statement. “We are happy to support anyone who wants to exercise the right to protest, as long as they do so lawfully.”
Owen Ziliak/The Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The sheriff had said in a video statement Saturday that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property.” They tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Some got through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Those arrested included the leader of the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, Wayne Hsiung, 44, of New York, who was being held on a tentative felony charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. But most arrestees were just booked and released, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.
“No one should be assaulted for giving aid to a dog, even if damage to property is part of that rescue effort,” Hsuing said in a statement from jail Sunday that also accused authorities of using excessive force. “The animals of this Earth are not “things.” They’re sentient beings. And we have the right to rescue them from abuse,” he concluded.
Protesters took 30 dogs when they broke into the facility in March, when authorities arrested 27 people.
Ridglan denies mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 in a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
On its website, the company says “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
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About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
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