"'It has arguably never been harder in American history than it is today, in 2026, to sue a federal official for money damages if they violate your constitutional rights,' Harrison Stark of University of Wisconsin Law School said."
"Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty on Thursday filed criminal charges against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer for allegedly brandishing his service weapon at two people during Operation Metro Surge in what she said was a first-of-its-kind case in the country."
"On Thursday, Minnesota state prosecutors announced a historic set of charges against a federal immigration agent. Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. has been charged with two felony counts of second-degree assault for pointing his gun at two Minnesota residents as they sat in their car back in February, right in the midst of the Trump administration’s brutal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, dubbed Operation Metro Surge. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said she believes that this might be the first charge of its kind nationwide."
"University of Wisconsin Law School professor Robert Yablon describes standards of recusal for judges and justices as requests for the action increase in response to campaign donations and statements."
"For this episode, Bridget joins the podcast to provide a deep dive into the difficulties of researching, explaining, and influencing state-level cases and statutes. Bridget highlights how it is SDRI’s mission to fill the gap in legal research by focusing on state constitutions and state-level democracy. One great example is Bridget’s explainer about whether states can prohibit Federal agents from masking while on the job, updated to include recent case decisions."
"Proposals to prohibit federal immigration agents from masking their faces have gained new life in states — thanks in part to a court ruling that blocked the nation’s first such law, in California."
"Michigan was one of several states that refused to share its voter rolls with the federal government. Now, it may be the most likely to have to defend that decision in higher courts — potentially even the U.S. Supreme Court."
"Derek Clinger, a senior attorney with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s State Democracy Research Initiative, told WPR the federal government’s use of the Civil Rights Act is an interesting approach."
"While the Justice Department now claims the security and sanctity of upcoming elections necessitates the need for speed, the department hasn’t alleged any states are violating federal voter list maintenance requirements, said Derek Clinger, senior counsel and director of partnerships at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School."
"The Wisconsin Supreme Court in April 2025 upheld Gov. Tony Evers’ use of the partial veto to convert a two-year funding increase for schools into one that would last 2,425 years, prompting Republican lawmakers to propose a constitutional amendment limiting the governor’s veto power on the November 2026 ballot, according to the court’s majority opinion in LeMieux v. Evers."