Too much democracy? Ex-govs say no to elections for judges

By   /  March 18, 2013  /  Accountability, Elections, Ethics, Featured, Issues, Judicial Reform, Judiciary, News, Pennsylvania, Politics & Elections, State Elections, State Government  /  No Comments

GREAT TASTE? LESS FILLING? The state's residents may eventually get to decide between having Supreme Court Justices elected or appointed.

By Eric Boehm | PA Independent
HARRISBURG – Three former governors elected by Pennsylvania voters a total of six times over the past 34 years argued Monday that those same voters should not be trusted to choose the state’s highest-ranking judges.
Former Republican Govs. Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge were joined by former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell [...]

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WI appeals court: No stay for state in Act 10 case

By   /  March 12, 2013  /  Featured, Governor, Judiciary, Judiciary, News, Politics, Scott Walker, State Budgets, State Government, Supreme Court, Wisconsin  /  4 Comments

A state appeals court rules against the state's request for a stay in the legal saga that is Act 10, the bill, now law, that launched thousands of protesters.

The state constitutionality of Gov. Scott Walker’s collective bargaining overhaul may not be a slam dunk case for the state, at least according to a ruling from an appellate court.

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Schools can use drug dogs in random searches, court rules

By   /  March 8, 2013  /  Accountability, Education, Issues, Judiciary, Judiciary, Missouri, National, National News, News  /  1 Comment

GOOD DOGGIE: A federal court ruled this week that schools can conduct random searches of students' belongings as part of normal operations.

School officials can use drug-sniffing dogs to conduct unannounced, random searches of students, a three-judge panel ruled this week in federal court.

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How much did John Doe probe cost? D.A. doesn’t keep track

By   /  March 5, 2013  /  Accountability, Ethics, Featured, Judiciary, News, Open Records, Power Abuse, Public records, State Politics, Taxes, Transparency, Wisconsin  /  2 Comments

Doe Dough? Milwaukee County District Attorney's office says they do not - and do not have to - keep track of the cost of John Doe investigations.

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON – Nearly three years in the making, the Milwaukee County District Attorney office’s John Doe investigation into former aides and associates of Gov. Scott Walker racked up a lot of man hours and, presumably, a lot of tax dollars.
Just how much? Taxpayers apparently will never know.
In response to Wisconsin [...]

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Top-secret probe of Scott Walker ends without charges

By   /  March 1, 2013  /  Elections, Ethics, Featured, Governor, Judiciary, News, Politics, Politics & Elections, Scott Walker, State Politics, Wisconsin  /  24 Comments

RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT: Gov. Scott Walker has fueled more speculation that he is planning on running for president by announcing this week that he is co-writing a book about his experiences as governor.

By M.D. Kittle | Wisconsin Reporter
MADISON – The John Doe probe is no more.
“IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the … John Doe investigation Shall be, and hereby is, closed.”
With that pronouncement from former state Appeals Court Judge Neal Nettesheim, the nearly three-year John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s former aides and associates, when Walker [...]

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