Wednesday, September 24, 2014

John Doe 2 back on?...Federal Court Reverses Conservative Activist Judge Randa.

When a conservative activist judge like Rudy Randa gets slapped around by the Federal Appeals Court like that, you've got to just scratch your head. If this were a liberal judge, we'd never hear the end of it. But "stand with Walker" trolls, tongues tied?

Judge Randa thought he could just change every law he didn't like, whether it's before him or not. That's what I would call authoritarian activism.

Surprise, Walker is still connected to the investigation, that remains on hold. WisPolitics:
A federal appeals court today reversed an injunction ending a John Doe investigation into coordination between conservative groups and Gov. Scott Walker's campaign in the recalls. 

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals also reversed Judge Rudolph Randa's ruling rejecting an immunity defense by state prosecutors who were sued by targets of the investigation. The court also sent the case back to district court with instructions to dismiss the suit, "leaving all further proceedings to the courts of Wisconsin." Randa sided with the Club for Growth in issuing an injunction to halt the probe. 

But the 7th Circuit ruled today Randa improperly issued the injunction because federal law says a U.S. court may not interfere with state court proceedings "except as expressly authorized by Act of Congress, or where necessary in aid of its jurisdiction, or to protect or effectuate its judgments." 
The court did not hold back:
jsonline: "What we have said shows not only that an injunction was an abuse of discretion but also that (as prosecutors) all defendants possess qualified immunity from liability in damages," wrote Judge Frank Easterbrook in the decision.

"It is not possible to treat as 'bad faith' a criminal investigation that reflects (the U.S. Supreme Court's) interpretation of the First Amendment," he wrote. "Public officials can be held liable for violating clearly established law, but not for choosing sides on a debatable issue."

Because of that, prosecutors and investigators involved in the case remain immune from lawsuits, Easterbrook wrote.

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