Today, the voters of Wisconsin go to the polls in what may be the single most expensive and important judicial race in modern history. Both parties are spending millions with the balance of the state Supreme Court in the balance. If liberal Susan Crawford wins, the expectation is that she will vote with the Democratic majority to approve a gerrymandering of congressional districts to guarantee the loss of two Republicans and possibly flip control of the House of Representatives to the Democrats.
The raw political pitch in the election is disturbing. It assumes that both candidates will blindly support the objectives of their respective parties. The real reason to cast a vote today should be on judicial ideology. Ironically, the United States Supreme Court made that plain in an important Wisconsin case argued just the day before the state election.
The case is Catholic Charities Bureau, Inc. v. Wisconsin Labor & Industry Review Commission.
In the decision below, the Democratic-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Catholic Charities could not benefit from a religious exemption to the state’s unemployment tax because its charitable work was not sufficiently religious.
Catholic Charities is one of the world’s oldest and most respected charities. However, the church believes that it has a duty to help people of every faith who are in need. Thus, the church does not proselytize in offering such aid and services.
A state labor commission ruled that the charity’s lack of such religious expression and prayer makes it secular, even if it has religious motivations.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed and ruled that the charity is not operated primarily for religious purposes because it does not “attempt to imbue” beneficiaries “with the Catholic faith nor supply any religious materials to program participants or employees.” In other words, the fact that Catholic Charities helps everyone and does not proselytize worked against it. The Wisconsin Supreme Court essentially argued that it needs to pray more to offer such charity as a church.
It is a disturbing ruling that would allow the state to choose between religions in weighing their relative manifestations of faith.
Even liberal justices cried foul over the standard. Justice Elena Kagan suggested it was “pretty fundamental that we don’t treat some religions better than others. And we certainly don’t do it based on the content of the religious doctrine that those religions preach.”
Kagan noted, “Some religions proselytize. Other religions don’t. Why are we treating some religions better than others based on that element of religious doctrine?” She noted that the standard “basically puts the state on the side of some religions with some doctrine versus other religions with a different doctrine.”
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson suggested that the Wisconsin Supreme Court was asking the wrong questions about what it means to be an organization “operated primarily for religious purposes.”
Justice Neil Gorsuch virtually mocked the standard of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, asking if Catholic Charities have to require the people receiving their services to “repent.” He then asked: “is mandatory church attendance versus optional church attendance, that’s the line?”
Gorsuch then delivered the haymaker: “Isn’t it a fundamental premise of our First Amendment that the state shouldn’t be picking and choosing between religions, between certain evangelical sects, and Judaism and Catholicism on the other, for example?”
The case shows that there are far more important issues dividing these candidates on judicial philosophy that should drive this election. I am not a fan of state elected judges and justices precisely because of the raw political element to these contests. The Catholic Charities case shows that the Wisconsin Supreme Court is divided along more than just a party line.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
P.S.: Whoever wins, the majority should adopt a new seal for the Court. The current seal above is dreadful.
That is a pretty naive observation.
It turns on illegal votes and ballot harvesting.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/liberal-wins-first-major-2025-statewide-battleground-election-race-turned-trump-musk-referendum
News from Turley’s home port.
Republicans have had a great deal of difficulty in off year supreme court elections in Wisconsin.
There was some hope this year as polls appeared to be closing.
The claim this is a Trump/Musk referendum is just stupid.
While both Democrats and Trump and Musk tried to make it a referendum. The results were much the same as other WI supreme court elections in off years in the past. Democrats in WI can GOTV on off years. Republicans can not.
There is no “swing” away from Republicans in the WI SCOTUS election – the results are the same as off year WI scotus elections for a long time.
The real problem is the impact. WI is a swing state – But the WI SCOTUS is fairly far left and very activist.
They are near certain to push gerrymandering, and election reforms that will corrupt WI elections further.
If you are looking to determing if there is an actual Trump backlash – Republicans are doing as expected in Florida.
Less strong GOP candidates are Winning Red Districts by margins near as good as Better candidates did in 2024,
And they are doing so faring 3:1 or more money disadvantage.
I have a counter-proposal for Trump regarding annexation of Canada as a State. Let’s offer the new Canuck PM an even up trade: Wisconsin for Alberta. We get massive additional petrochemical resources, Canada gets another province filled with people who believe they want to live under socialism. Maybe he should consider throwing in Minnesota as an inducement. Seems like a win-win to me…
VERY WELL SAID JOSEPH FRADY…..ILLINOIS, WISCONSIN, AND MINNY FOR ALBERTA
I was wondering why Turley wastes his time with this blog. He never participates and the level of discourse from the right is pathetic. I’d think he’d be embarrassed.
But if you go do a search for Jon Turley the vast majority of the hits are to this blog. And the ones that aren’t are really old.
So maybe he’s just trying to stay visible and not totally disappear like say Ann Coulter?
Says “Anonymous”.
I’ve listened to JT for year and I’ve notice he has become less objective and balanced. Perhaps it has to do with his pay check.
Jonathan: DJT claims ALL the over 200 immigrants flown to a notorious prison in El Salvador were “narco-terrorists:, “gang bangers”–the “worst of the worst”. Turns out that is a lie.
One of those kidnapped and flown out of the country was Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He is from El Salvador and fled to the US to escape death threats against he and his family. He was 16 yrs of age at the time. In 2019 a US immigration judge found Abrego Garcia had a credible fear of violence in El Salvador and give him TPS. He was released and has lived in Maryland ever since with his wife, who is a US citizen, along with his child who suffers from autism. While in the US Abrego Garcia has not been charged with any crime. That all changed on March 12 when ICE picked him up and flew him to El Salvador on March 15.
Abrego Garcia’s attorneys immediately petitioned a federal judge in Maryland to have him returned to the US because they fear he might be killed in the El Salvador prison. In a statement ICE now admits Obrego Garcia’s “removal was in error”. Now you would think ICE would ask the Salvadoran military to release Obrego Garcia and fly him back. Nope. ICE is saying “Too bad, so sad”–we can’t bring him back because he is now out of the jurisdiction of US courts.
Now in a world where the 5th amendment due process right actually means some thing the DJT regime could have brought Abrego Garcia before a judge and asked that his TPS be revoked based on credible evidence that he was a member of MS-13 or some other criminal gang–and then deport him. But the government didn’t do that. ICE simply grabbed Abrego Garcia and flew him to a possible El Salvadoran death camp.
And Abrego Garcia is not the only one caught up in this Orwellian nightmare. Even where the DJT regimes tries to convince a judge that someone should be deported because they are members of a criminal gang they can’t come up with the goods. On Friday Judge Leonie Brinkema found “unconvincing” the government’s case that two alleged members of Tren de Aragua should be deported. The judge said: “There’s no reason why they’re being held” and that if this was a criminal case “I’d throw you out of my chambers!”
We now live in a country where a regime can pick up anyone, deprive them of a court hearing and fly them to a foreign prison where they might die or never be seen again. What is to prevent the DJT regime from doing the same thing with a US citizen? Nothing. This reminds me of Franz Kafka’s novel “The Trial” in which the protagonist is arrested, put in prison, and prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority–with the nature of his alleged crimes not revealed.
A dictatorship starts by rounding up and putting in prison “hardened criminals”. Everyone thinks that’s fine because no one wants gangs of criminals roaming the streets. But soon the dictatorship does the same with others that have a different POV. Anyone and everyone who voices criticism of the regime is then prosecuted for “crimes against the state”. We saw it is Nazi Germany and we could see it here!
Or, the state and local authorities could cooperate with ICE when a criminal thug, rapist, murderer, child molester is caught instead of turning them out on the street. If they don’t, the chances of collateral damage increases.
Why are the hard left in favor of bringing in and protecting hardened criminals? Why do they promote retail and property theft and assault on tax paying citizens?
Why are they in favor of men in women’s prisons? Why do they promote men playing in girls sports and sharing their locker rooms? Why do they hate statues and cars? Why do they promote an open and unregulated border? Why do they advocate for fraudulent and irresponsible use of taxpayer funds?
Now, they advocate terrorism against the most eco friendly company on earth. How does that make sense? They are upset because they lost some of their slush funds.
These are mentally ill people who obsess about Donald Trump. They have little to no common sense. Their goal is chaos and destruction of western civilization. They have no ideas. They don’t build things, few of them (likely) have any idea what it is like to run a business or meet payroll.
They have gone off the deep end. These are the people who celebrate the horrific murder of Israeli citizens, children and innocents. They celebrate the thug who murdered the CEO of United Healthcare.
Dennis, we are only 70 days into the 47th presidency. There is much more to come. It is going to take some time to dismantle the systematic destruction you guys have brought on this nation and around the world.
ANYTHING THAT IS TOTAL OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE PEOPLE VOTED FOR AND WHAT THEY EXPECT IS WHERE YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND THE DEMOCRATS!!!
ETTD
THE DEMOCRATS ALWAYS FIND THAT 1 IN 250 STORY THAT SUPPOSEDLY MAKES EVERYTHING THEY SAY RIGHT!!! GOT TO BE MORE TO IT FOR HIM TO BE JOINED IN WITH THIS GROUP…
Turns out this guy is a member of the gang stated when he was arrested and shipped out of the country. This whole story is not true and just made up to try and make ICE look bad. Why in the world do you want these really bad people in our country so they can commit horrible crimes. They Are not citizens and have no rights. We need to rid America of these bad people that just want to harm us and commit crimes.
This story is not true…this guy is a gang member…These gang member are here only to rape and steal and comment crimes. They Are not citizens and have no rights. They should be expelled. They have no rights to a trial.
Second French and American Revolutions?
Let Them Eat Cake!
Elections are supposed to be decided at the ballot box, not in the courtroom — unless you’re French, or, in this country, a liberal. What a judge in France has just done by disqualifying Marine Le Pen from running in that nation’s next presidential election is what Democrats dream of doing here. The controversial populist was ahead in the polls, but now Le Pen isn’t even eligible to run, thanks to a court that found her guilty of using European Union funds to pay for political expenses. She insists the spending was legitimate, but as things stand French voters won’t get to decide for themselves who’s right. Americans might feel safe from this kind of lawfare — when New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg went after President Donald Trump on campaign-finance technicalities, he won his case but lost his gambit. The nakedly political prosecution only added to the momentum propelling Trump back to office, and in our country voters, not judges, get the final word: Bragg’s convictions couldn’t stop the Republican from running, and winning.
– PJ Media
And in Romania the populist guy won a free and fair election, but the Romanian constitutional court nullified it because they didn’t like the guy, plus the voters had too much free speech to listen to. They didn’t say there was fraud or voting irregularities, just too much free speech that might’ve influenced the voters to elect the dude they were hoping would lose.
Universal Injunctions
Senator Kennedy being clear and cogent. Thanks anon for that.
OT:
Luna is now Rep. Looney. There’s a reason , mam, for a quorum PRESENT.
You can just stay home everyday.
Both special congressional elections in Florida are blowout wins for the GOP. 🎈 🎊 🎉
About 15 point smaller blowouts than what Trump did. Put that number across the national races in the mid terms and you’re going to lose some seats.
IOW Trump’s victory was a super-blowout and these wins are just regular blowouts. And that’s what you’re taking comfort in? Wow. 😂
It’s OK we’ll get those 2 seats back when the Wisconsin congressional districts are fairly redrawn.
Blowout ????
Really ???
Gaetz and Waltz won these seats in 2024 by more than 30 points.
The Republicans won both tonight by 5 points.
That would be about a 500% improvement for the Democrats.
Liar. The margins of victory were 14 percentage points in one of the races, and 15 percentage points in the other. Those margins *are* blowouts.
I hope Musk is heavily involved in the midterms.
If George Soros was handing out *stickers* to voters, let alone $1 million like Musk, this board would be apoplectic. The double standards are unreal.
@Anon
George Soros does hand out all that, and more, and cloaked in darkness and secrecy rather than out in the open. Has for many, many years. He has groomed his son to continue it.
Go gaslight somewhere else, nobody here cares.
Ah so it’s only wrong when the other side’s billionaires buys elections. Read you loud and clear chief.
Right back at you. That’s been your position all along.
“Catholic Charities is one of the world’s oldest and most respected charities. However, the church believes that it has a duty to help people of every faith who are in need. Thus, the church does not proselytize in offering such aid and services.”
*****************************
Ol’ CC gave up charity eons ago preferring to become the woke assault brigade dedicated to teaching illegals how to lie about asylum claims, lobbyng Congress and collecting “65 percent of its $2.3 billion annual budget … from government sources … little that is explicitly religious, or even values-laden, about most of the services its 1,400 member agencies and 46,000 paid employees provide.” Oh and lest anyone doubt their inate holiness by cutting off funds, our religious brothers and sister just sue to get the cash. https://www.keranews.org/news/2025-03-03/catholic-charities-fort-worth-sues-federal-government-to-unlock-36m-in-paused-refugee-funds.
And when suing doesn’t work CC has no trouble channeling “Rules for Radicals” Saul Alinski to get what it wants: ” Explains Tom Ulrich, the Catholic Charities’ national director of “Training and Convening,” which instructs local personnel in parish social ministry, “To bring people together to create a power base so that they can influence their local communities—that’s important in parish social ministry, and very much influenced by Alinsky and the IAF (the Marxist Indutrial Areas Foundation”).
Any resemblance to a relgious organization is purely and publicly intentional and only marginally true. Wisconsin seems to get that but libs rarely see the train coming through the dark tunnel until they are getting a closeup view of the undercarriage.
Here’s the real story: https://www.city-journal.org/article/how-catholic-charities-lost-its-soul
“Asylum”
The Greatest Fraud and Treason in American History.
Perhaps one, one hundred, or even one thousand, but definitely not ten or twenty million.
It’s not about “Asylum,” it’s about increasing the number of unassimilable, illegal alien, foreign, anti-American, non-American voters.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
“[We gave you] a [restricted-vote] republic, if you can keep it.”
– Ben Franklin
_________________
You couldn’t.
________________
“We the People of the United States…secure the Blessings of Liberty to OURSELVES and OUR POSTERITY….”
– The American Founders
_____________________________
You didn’t.
Jonathan: It would be nice if the SC election in Wisconsin today were just about “judicial philosophy” and “turn on principle not politics”. But it’s not. It’s about raw political power and you know it.
What you neglect to mention is that the richest person in the world is trying to buy a seat on a state supreme court. Musk has spent over $20 million to try to get his MAGA candidate, Brad Schimel, elected. That’s the largest amount of money ever spent on a state race. Musk isn’t spending that kind of money to “promote democracy”. He has cases in the Wisconsin courts and he wants to ensure a 3-2 Republican majority on the state SC to rule in his favor.
Anybody watch Musk’s Sunday telethon where he handed out two million dollar checks to lucky winners of his contest? One of the lucking winners randomly selected was Nicolas Jacobs. Who is he? Jacobs is a student at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He is also the chairman of Wisconsin’s College Republican chapter and has a private account on X. According to Jacobs’ LinkedIn account he worked on the campaigns of MAGA Senator Ron Johnson and Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Last year Jacobs was a “ballot chase rep.” for Turning Point Action. Jacobs was not “randomly” selected for the $1 million check. He was selected by Musk because Jacobs is dedicated to Musk’s causes!
So Musk is not only trying to rig the Wisconsin SC election today he also rigged his contest! No startling news for those who follow Elon. Wherever he spends money it’s only for one purpose–to protect his financial interests. And what Musk is trying to do in Wisconsin is not just absolutely abnormal, it’s also illegal. It’s a felony in the state to try to buy votes. We’ll see if Elon ends up before a Wisconsin magistrate charged with a felony. Now that should be something to watch!
Dennis – Paying for a GOTV campaign is not illegal – Democrats do it all the time.
That is probably the most important thing all campaigns do and Democrats on average are outspending republicans 2:1 – because they have far more big money donors. And because they engage in far more rent seeking.
It is illegal to pay someone to vote for a specific candidate.
And if WI’s constitutional requirement for Secret Ballot Elections was upheld by the WI left wing nut SCOTUS, it would not be possible to buy someone’s vote. Because no one will pay someone to vote for a specific candidate without proof that they did.
And if you actually have secret ballot elections – which REQUIRE going to polls, Not voting from the couch, then buying votes would be impossible.
But as Usual Democrats make fraud easy and then accuse others of engaging in Fraud.
38 States have Secret Ballot constitutional requirements – any form of voting where the ballot leave the control of election officials, violates secret ballot requirements and causes fraud – among other forms – Buying votes.