Free Republic

So Peg Lautenschlager wants to take over the Chai Vang case. We wish the Wisconsin attorney general good luck. She'll need it. We're inclined to agree with the cynics who think this is more about politics than prosecutorial discretion. After all, it's certainly no coincidence that Lautenschlager will be up for re-election in 2006. It's also important to note that Lautenschlager is trying to live down a DWI conviction. Adding insult to injury, she was in a state-owned vehicle earlier this year when she was pulled over and refused to submit to a sobriety test. Clearly, a victory in the...

Several people at or near the area where six northern Wisconsin deer hunters were gunned down last fall in a barrage of least 20 shots will testify in the trial of a Minnesota truck driver accused of murder, Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said. Lautenschlager would not identify who she will call as witnesses for the prosecution when Chai Soua Vang's murder trial resumes Monday. But she indicated the witnesses would include more than just the two men who survived gunshot wounds from the Nov. 21 shootings at a Sawyer County deer camp, where 15 people had gathered. "I can't talk...

Judge: Legislature, Cities Cannot Fight Gay Rights Lawsuit A judge has decided that the Legislature and several local governments cannot join the fight against a lawsuit seeking taxpayer funded benefits for partners of gay public employees. Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan ruled that state law gives the Department of Justice the authority to defend the state's interests. The lawsuit was filed by six lesbian state employees and the American Civil Liberties Union in April. It claims the state's refusal to provide health insurance to their partners violates the equal protection clause of the Wisconsin constitution. Republican State Representative Mark...

No legal grounds, judge is told The American Civil Liberties Union and the state's attorney general are making similar legal arguments in asking a judge to turn down the Legislature's request to intervene in a major gay rights case. They are on different sides of the dispute, but both agree the Legislature has no legal grounds to fight the lawsuit aimed at getting the state to pay for health care benefits for the partners of gay state employees. Republican lawmakers have hired the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian advocacy group that fights gay rights, to represent their interests in the...

Spotlight can be hot, but perks are cool Posted: Feb. 28, 2004 Spivak & Bice Cary Spivak &Dan Bice E-MAIL  |  ARCHIVE   The bad part about being attorney general was pretty obvious to everybody last week: Get nailed for being drunk behind the wheel of a state car, and you're front-page news across the state. But here's the good part: You get a free car, and you don't even have to reimburse the state for mileage when you drive up and back to your home some 70 miles from the Capitol. At least that's the way it's worked so...