Monday, August 24: Competitive Senate races, 12 applicants seek commutations, Trump’s ‘creative lawyering’, abortion health exceptions case could have big repercussions
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We have our chessboard fully laid out. I don’t think there’s any question that, you know, this cycle, it seems as though our backs are against the wall.”
– Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), on Republican efforts to hold their majority in the Wisconsin state Senate
Wisconsin Senate Chamber (State Department photo by Ron Przysucha)
Baylor Spears talks with Republican and Democratic leaders about the handful of Wisconsin state Senate races that will determine which party controls the chamber, as new voting maps take effect for the first time for all of the state’s Senate districts in November.
On Friday, Gov. Tony Evers’ Commutation Advisory Board heard from 12 applicants who hope to have long prison sentences commuted. Criminal Justice Fellows Andrew Kennard and Frank Zufall report on the hearing and the details of the cases the board is considering.
Even after the Supreme Court ruled against him, President Donald Trump is forging ahead and using what some legal observers describe as “creative lawyering” to find alternative routes to push his agenda, including tariffs, mass deportation and control over the Fed, even as public support fades. Ashley Murray in our Washington bureau has the story.
A federal court ruling out of Idaho has potential implications for exceptions in abortion bans nationwide and could eventually end up before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide. At issue is a national debate about when a pregnant woman’s health takes priority over an abortion ban. Kelcie Moseley-Morris reports.
PLUS:
ICYMI
Mental health workers say algorithmic triage is hurting patients | Capital & Main
Commentary: Data centers are a big political issue; what should Wisconsin do about them? | Ruth Conniff
Judge blocks effort to boot GOP Senate candidate Michele Magadance Skinner from November ballot | Baylor Spears
A dozen people applying to have their prison sentences shortened spoke about how they had changed their lives at the first hearing held by Wisconsin' new Commutation Advisory Board (Getty Images)
Thanks for reading Quick Study. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.