Blog

Pellegrini v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, et al.

On behalf of Robert Pellegrini, a registered Wisconsin voter and taxpayer, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) challenging WEC’s abdication of its duties to investigate and decide complaints against local election officials. Instead of the six WEC Commissioners deciding those complaints, they have delegated the responsibility to staff.

Buchman v. City of La Crosse

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a federal lawsuit against the City of La Crosse on behalf of Joy Buchman, a licensed mental health professional and owner of Kinsman Redeemer Counseling Center, LLC (“Kinsman”). The suit challenges the city’s ordinance that penalizes medical or mental health professionals if they express certain prohibited viewpoints relating to sexual orientation or gender identity when counseling their minor patients. The ordinance would, for example, require professional counselors to either affirm the decision of any minor patient to transition to a new gender identity—despite ongoing, good-faith disagreements among professionals on whether and under what circumstances such transitions should take place—or remain silent.

Darlingh v. Maddaleni et al.

On behalf of Marissa Darlingh, a former school counselor at Allen-Field Elementary School in the Milwaukee Public School District (MPS), attorneys with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a federal lawsuit against certain MPS employees for firing Ms. Darlingh for her First Amendment protected speech.

Brown County Taxpayers Association v. Biden

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed a federal lawsuit against the Biden Administration today on behalf of the Brown County Taxpayers Association (BCTA), challenging the new federal student debt forgiveness program. The “One-Time Student Loan Debt Relief Plan,” announced by President Biden on August 24, 2022, promises to cancel debts owed to the U.S. Treasury by tens of millions of borrowers, all without authorization of such a program by Congress or federal law. The U.S. Department of Education is expected to begin canceling debts in the coming days, potentially costing U.S. taxpayers more than $1 Trillion.

Wisconsin Right Now v. Wisconsin Parole Commission

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed suit in Washington County Circuit Court on behalf of Wisconsin Right Now, a Wisconsin-based conservative news outlet that sought public records from the Wisconsin Parole Commission (WPC). Despite having months to fulfill the request, WPC failed to comply with the public records law and did not turn over the requested records.

The Mysterious TikTok-ing Noise

The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) issued a new policy report, The Mysterious TikTok-ing Noise. The report recaps the meteoric rise of the China-based social media app “TikTok,” and recounts the invasive ways that the software records data from its users. The report strongly recommends that Wisconsin take heed of federal warnings and follow some other states’ practices in prohibiting the app from government-owned devices.

Braun v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

A registered Wisconsin voter and taxpayer sues the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) in regards to the illegal use of the National Mail Voter Registration Form ("the Form"). The lawsuit, filed in the Waukesha County Circuit Court, urges the court to declare that the use of this voter registration form in Wisconsin is illegal and orders WEC to withdraw its approval of the Form. The Form adds extra criteria not authorized by statute or rule while simultaneously failing to include all items mandated by Wisconsin statute (Wis. Stat. § 6.33(1)).

Parents Protecting Our Children v. Eau Claire Area School District et al.

Attorneys with The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) and America First Legal (AFL) filed a federal lawsuit against the Eau Claire Area School District (ECASD), the superintendent, and the school board for adopting policies that facilitate gender transitions that might occur at school without any parental notification or consent.