Wisconsin Right Now

The legal fight over school choice in Wisconsin could be growing. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty asked to join the Supreme Court case that would end the state’s school choice programs. “On behalf of our clients and about 65,000 students who benefit from Wisconsin’s choice programs, WILL stands ready to defend the rule of law and the educational freedoms afforded to students and families alike,” WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg said in a statement. Progressive activist and frequent candidate Kirk Bangstad filed a lawsuit last month that says Wisconsin’s four taxpayer-funded school voucher programs are unconstitutional. Bangstad is asking the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court to strike down those programs and send the money that choice students receive back to the state’s public schools. WILL’s argument is the lawsuit is too broad, wrong and asks the court to end “settled law.” “[Bangstad’s] arguments are factually incorrect and that gran...

The next legal fight over whether someone has to belong to a group as a condition to do their job may be coming to a courtroom soon. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty on Monday asked the United State Supreme Court to take once again a look at mandatory bar membership in the state. “For far too long, this Court’s precedents have allowed States to put attorneys to the choice of either losing their ability to earn a living in their profession or associating with and funding opinions with which they disagree,” WILL argued in its amicus brief. WILL is calling the challenge a First Amendment case. [caption id="attachment_94848" align="alignleft" width="189"] ANTHONY LOCOCO Deputy Counsel[/caption] “Forcing objecting attorneys to join and fund an organization that engages in speech with which they disagree is contrary to fundamental values of free speech and free association,” WILL Deputy Counsel Anthony LoCoco, said. “If the State Bar wants ...