SCOTUS says, Sorry, Wisconsin, solve your own problems.

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Court bypasses Wisconsin political fray
By Lyle Denniston, May 18, 2015

The Supreme Court chose on Monday to stay out of a years-long political battle surrounding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his political allies, leaving the dispute to be sorted out in state court.  Without comment, the Court turned aside a plea by a conservative political activist to revive a civil rights lawsuit against a special prosecutor over an investigation of supporters for the governor’s anti-union efforts.

The denial of review in O’Keefe v. Chisholm came amid a series of orders the Court issued in new cases. [snipped]

The Court’s refusal to get into the middle of a bitter, mostly partisan feud in Wisconsin was not a surprise, because the case is still undergoing review in the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the groups complaining about the prosecutor have already been able to stop a series of investigations that had run on nearly five years.

At the core of the investigations was local Democratic prosecutors’ suspicion that conservative political advocacy groups were violating Wisconsin’s limits on campaign finance by their support for the policy goals of Republican Governor Walker, before he was governor and since he took office.  Political activist Eric O’Keefe and a group he helps lead, Wisconsin Club for Growth, argued that the investigation was a form of retaliation for the free-speech activities of the governor’s political allies.  It was O’Keefe and that organization that sought to appeal to the Supreme Court.

While a state judge had blocked the investigation, by nullifying existing subpoenas to the governor’s allied organizations, the question whether there was a violation, at all, of Wisconsin election law is now before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  Even so, O’Keefe and his group were attempting to revive their civil rights claims against the lead prosecutor and local Democratic county attorneys.

Gov. Walker has gained prominence among Republicans, especially over his efforts to take away the bargaining rights of public-sector labor unions in Wisconsin.  The governor is now actively exploring the possibility of a run for the presidency.

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